Prep wrestling leader in coaching wins resigns
Iowa
Dan Mashek of North Scott of Eldridge, the state’s career coaching leader in high school wrestling dual meets, has resigned his coaching duty.
In 37 seasons of coaching — the last seven at North Scott, the previous 30 at Don Bosco of Gilbertville — Mashek forged a 519-105-5 record. He is 122 wins ahead of the No. 2 coach on the list, Royce Duncan of Pleasant Valley.
North Scott was 15-4 and finished sixth in the Class 3-A traditional tournament last winter.
Mashek coached 21 wrestlers to a combined 23 state championships. His last champion was North Scott’s Stew Gillmor, who won the Class 3-A 145-pound title last winter in Mashek’s final match as coach.
Mashek, 60, said he will remain at North Scott to teach history and government.
Don Bosco won four traditional state championships and one dual-meet title under Mashek. The Dons’ entire 12-man squad qualified for the 1979 tournament, when the tournament had 12 weight classes.
“I guess it’s probably time,” Mashek said Tuesday. “There is a lot of emotion involved in coaching, eventually it takes its toll. It’s time for the younger generation to take over.”
Mashek said he hopes assistant coach Eugene Kreiter will succeed him at North Scott.
“He’ll be remembered by a lot of people for his win-loss record,” said Alan Beste, wrestling coordinator for the Iowa High School Athletic Association, “but he’ll be remembered by a lot of other people by his coaching style, the way he always had his wrestlers prepared and the kind of character that he displayed.”
Bill Roths of Cedar Falls, president of the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association, said Mashek had a good role model for running a class program — West High hall of fame coach Bob Siddens.
“Very goal-oriented and wasn’t satisfied until he reached those goals,” Roths said of Mashek. “That’s what he instilled in his wrestlers.”
Roths said he officiated countless meets and tournaments involving Mashek’s teams. There was always one constant, Roths said.
“You never heard Dan get angry at the kids,” Roths said. “He was always talking to them with instructions of what to do. He was always teaching the kids and, win or lose, when they walked off that mat, there was a handshake from him, a hug from him or whatever might be needed.”
Mashek said the record number of wins is not his sole property.
“In order to accomplish something like that, it’s certainly not just one person’s contribution,” Mashek said. “I don’t look at it as my record, I look at it as being a combination of all of the people who had anything to do with it. It’s our record, it’s not my record.”
THE TOP FIVE WRESTLING COACHES BY CAREER WINS
Dan Mashek, Don Bosco (Gilbertville), North Scott …..519-105-5
Royce Duncan, Pleasant Valley……397-134-4
Brad Smith, Lisbon, Iowa City High…..394-105
Tom Kilburg, Durant, Western Dubuque…….389-144-8
Kent Kersten, Arlington, S.D., Logan-Magnolia…..380-78-4
STATE CHAMPION WRESTLERS UNDER DAN MASHEK
DON BOSCO (GILBERTVILLE)
Ray Fox, 1977
Tony Bedard, 1978
Mike Hogan, 1979
Al Francis, 1980, 1982
Corey Mills, 1981, 1982
Mark Mangrich, 1981
Irv Thome, 1981
Scott Mangrich, 1983
Pat Hogan, 1984
Jeff Schmitz, 1985
Jim Benda, 1987
Tom Hogan, 1988
Steve Thoma, 1988
Daryl Weber, 1990, 1991
Troy Purdy, 1991
Lee Weber, 1995
Troy Pecenka, 1996
Mack Reiter, 2000
Joe Reiter, 2000
NORTH SCOTT
Stew Gillmor, 2007.
