Youth State History

[Chris Hansen]

Can someone who has been around/involved for the long run provide a paragraph or so detailing the history of youth state?  Then maybe a few others can add details and make some corrections.  

When did it all begin?  What have been the locations ultimately leading up to the Aliant Energy Center?  When did the 8 regionals begin or have they always been there?  Can I assume youth state was in place for a while but then exploded in popularity or was it always, from day 1, this popular?  Who were key people involved at the beginning - Fred, Duffy, Dave?

[Houndhead]

I remember back in my youth(late 70's), there was a freestyle state for youths but not folkstyle. I remember it being in the old gym at Rapids and in Lax.

[Big Steve]

Houndhead is correct, no Folkstyle state until around 1989 or 90 and that was in River Falls then on to Stevens Point and I believe DC Everest. Sometime around 2002 or 3 it moved to Alliant. I think there is a history of the tournament in the youth state program.
Freestyle state was in Rapids for many years and it was very popular.
Any one who ever tried to wrestle or coach at the other locations is very happy that state moved to somewhere the size of Alliant. Those other locations were packed!

[My2sense]

I think Dave black had a lot to do with it and its popularity. Maybe Kevin can fill us in?

[Kevin Black]

The event that is currently the WWF Kid's Folkstyle State Tournament started in 1989 in River Falls.  Dave Black (River Falls), Tom Hanson (Baldwin), Darrell Fellrath (Hudson), Neil Reilly (Prescott) and Tom Zeuhli (Hudson) got together (in our living room) and casted the vision for a state Folkstyle tournament. 

Dave called USA Wrestling in 1988 to sanction a Folkstyle event and they informed him they were a Freestyle/Greco-Roman organization only.  Dave and Tom put in a significant amount of their own money (as small dairy farmers in the 80's, we didn't have much...) and five local wrestling clubs - River Falls, Baldwin-Woodville, Prescott, Hudson and Glenwood City - agreed to contribute financially and assist with volunteers.  They had to purchase insurance for the event (because USAW wouldn't sanction it), buy trophies in advance and rent a facility, so there was significant overhead expense.

The first year there were 747 participants in 60 weight classes.  The event was held at the Hunt Arena on the campus of UW-River Falls.  It was the first time I had ever seen the Hunt without ice.  The age divisions were altered from the USAW age divisions so kids didn't have to compete against the same opponents throughout the season.  That mindset still remains today.

Over 1,000 wrestlers participated in the second year, so Dave reached out to a few wrestling friends throughout the state to include 8 regional qualifiers in Elkhorn (Ken Reynolds), Manawa (Steve Lowney), Westby (Mike Marr), Richland Center (Gary Hardy), Chippewa Falls (Scott and Lorraine Smith), and two other sites (I don't recall the locations).

There were over 1,100 participants in year three and the decision was made to make the event centrally located.  It moved to the Stevens Point Area High School for one year (too small) then to the field house on the campus of UW-Stevens Point.  Marty Loy's athletes at UW-SP officiated the tournament.  All of the brackets were done manually on our living room floor before the tournament and updated after each round at the event on the large 24"x36" cardboard brackets.  They eventually adjusted the weight classes based on participation and went to three pound increments to provide more opportunities and attempt to eliminate weight cutting - both outside the box thinking at that time.

In 1992, the WWF elected Fred Lehrke as the chairman and he and Dave got together to discuss the options of sanctioning the event and merging with the WWF.  The WWF was in financial distress and had a very unhealthy culture.  There were a few strong personalities who were adamantly against Folkstyle inclusion and were extremely disrespectful on several levels to my dad.  Fred and Dave had a great working relationship and it was eventually agreed to include the Folkstyle State Tournament in the WWF schedule, much to the chagrin of a few board members who resigned as a result.  A large percentage of the money went directly into the WWF as a donation that brought the organization's head above water.  It was also agreed that one of the five original members from the 1989 group would get a board position.  Dave has been on the board ever since.  Fred and Dave made it work with two organizations that were far from friendly with each other.

Once it worked within the USA Wrestling sanctioning format, Ted DeRouse (manager of state services - originally denied the sanction for the event) began promoting the idea of Folkstyle wrestling within USAW and endorsed similar events.  To my knowledge, it was the first Folkstyle tournament of this magnitude to be sanctioned by USAW.

The event moved to DC Everest High School in the late 90's before Paul Proctor from the Stoughton Wrestling Club thought the Alliant Energy Center would be a great place to host the event.  He and the Stoughton Wrestling Club put together a bid for the event and it was moved to Madison 8 years ago.  Around this time, some of the individuals you see at the head table became part of the WWF tournament procedures (Jeff Jones, etc.).

On a personal note, I admire how my dad has handled the growth of this tournament.  He's been professional since day one.  He wears his emotions on his sleeve, however, he's had an extremely sound business sense in regards to this event.  He has been the glue that has held this event together for 25 years through a variety of personalities and transitions that have proved to make this event the best of its kind.  He and my mom are the only individuals who have worked at every single one of the tournaments since the beginning.  He's never accepted any form of payment from the event (mileage, ref fees, etc.) and cares about the experience for everyone who participates.  He's endured unnecessary ridicule and taken it all in stride.  This event was "his baby" as he started it in our living room borrowing money against our cows, however, he doesn't take ownership of the event and treats it as if it belongs to the Wisconsin Wrestling Community - quite a noble endeavor.  He's quick to praise others for the success of the event and quicker to accept responsibility for the issues and concerns.  He demonstrates true servant leadership; he doesn't see himself above doing any of the jobs necessary to make the event work, just check behind the scenes.  Merging this event with the WWF saved the organization from financial distress and since he's been the chairman of the WWF they've operated with a balanced budget every year while providing opportunities for thousands of people.  Within the USAW structure, Wisconsin has the most reliable and predictable organization of any state in the country, thanks in large part to Dave Black (and his wife, Mary).

[littleguy301]

While giving a feeble attempt at helping Mr Black set up Friday night for youth regional, I had the pleasure of going down the youth state history with Mr Black. It was quite interesting to say the least. Also I got a sense of pride knowing that the club I am in was one of the 5 that started things going.

I remember Mr Black telling me to come up with some money to help get this thing going he sold a heifer(s) for the start up money.

Growing up on the a farm in and around that era, I could side with Mr Blacks selling some livestock to make it a go.

Thanks to Mr Black in getting this going. I was able to coach at both regional and the state event for the first time this past season. I can say it went very good. and hope to do it more in the future.

[Chris Hansen]

Littleguy -is Tom Hanson still part of B-W wrestling?  As for the Hudson guys, I don't believe I have ever met Tom Zeuli and Darryl Fellrath passed away probably seven years ago.

[uncle Fester]

I used to hang out with Dave Black..they are all wrestling nuts..he told me he dreamed of wrestling when he was in his mothers womb...Kevin was born with one wrestling shoe and Tony popped out with a headgear on.. Dave and Mary were very happy...

[coastguard]

Kudos to Dave Black and his group for having the vision and the work ethic to make this event happen back then.  I remember meeting with Dave along with Marty Loy at some hotel off of HWY 51 when he proposed having the event run at UWSP. The event was not nearly as seamless as it is today and the officiating is ten times better than our group of college wrestlers....But it was a great experience for all of us  to be a part of toward the beginning.  I also remember all the bad feelings that this event caused for some.....however Dave Black is a true servant leader and puts the kids and the sports ahead of all else.  I would have never imagined back 20+ years ago that I would be here again with my son.

Thanks Dave and Mary and all of those that make it happen!

[Troy Grindle]

Kevin,

Thanks for the history of the event and some of the insight.  Your dad is a great guy and made it a point of going around to every table this past weekend and saying thanks to everybody that was volunteering.  I know the table that I was working at everybody thought that was pretty cool.  I saw your dad their working, talking, and doing so many different jobs it was amazing.  I am glad that he persevered through the simple thinkers o bring such a great event together.  The Stoughton wrestling club does a great job with running it and deserve big time credit for everything that they do with it.  Great tournament.

[DocWrestling]

Kudos to the founders of a great event!  It was long overdue and wish it was around when I competed in youth wrestling

[SSparks]

I can't begin to express how fortunate we are to have Dave Black and his leadership in this state.  Dave and Mary have done so much for me and BadgerStateWrestling over the years.  I would not even know where to begin.  I marvel at their commitment to making Wisconsin wrestling better on so many different levels.  Really hard to truly comprehend all the time they spend and all the work they do.  We are all so lucky to have them here in Wisconsin. 

[littleguy301]

Littleguy -is Tom Hanson still part of B-W wrestling?  As for the Hudson guys, I don't believe I have ever met Tom Zeuli and Darryl Fellrath passed away probably seven years ago.

No he is not. Also someone would have to jog my memory about Tom Hanson. I think I know who he is but there is a couple of Tom Hansons in the area.

I will say in the past couple of years I have gotten a chance to talk to some of the "earlier" leaders in our club. They now have grandchildren and they come in to practices. Fun hearing the stories and they also talk very highly of Dave Black also.

[woody53]

Thank you Kevin for your post. As a interested party, that observed how the tournament grew, looking in from outside, you filled in some blanks. I too can not say enough about what all involved did to grow this event. The Black Family, Coach Lehrke, and all the others really have done a great amount for our youth.

[Kevin Black]

Tom and Nylla Hanson.  Their oldest daughter, Tiffany, graduated from B-W in '91.  They moved to Brillion and Joel graduated in '95 and Krista graduated in '98.  Tom and Nylla are in Madison and all three kids moved back to NW Wisconsin.