Area honorees among nine to be inducted into S.D. Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame
SIOUX FALLS — Tim Steffensen of Watertown, Gene Brownell of Aberdeen, Greg Lanners of Clear Lake, former Redfield standout Eugene Hoffart and former Doland standout Jon Madsen are among the nine men set to be inducted into the South Dakota Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
The group will be honored on Saturday afternoon prior to the championship matches in the State High School Indivdiual Wrestling Championships in the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
Other honorees included Timothy Lloyd McMahon of Miller, Jeff Heumiller of Salem, Bob Graf of Onida and former Freeman standout Greg Sayler.
Here's the biographies for the area inductees:
Tim Steffensen, Watertown
The Arlington native placed fifth in both the 1978 and 1980 state Class B tournaments before wrestling in college at Dakota State and Northern State.
After graduation, he coached for Aberdeen Roncalli, Lyman and Deuel and also spent 10 years coaching youth wrestling. Steffensen also officiated for 28 years and earned the National Federation of High Schools Wrestling Official of the Year Award in 2011-12. He officiated the All-Star Wrestling Match in Aberdeen in 2011, 19 state tournaments as well as many district, regional and state youth tournaments.
Steffensen is still involved today in wrestling, serving as the Northeast Conference and Region 1B wrestling chairman and also has served as the official scorekeeper for the South Dakota State wrestling team since 2012.
Tim and his wife Heidi have a son, two daughters and six grandchildren.
State Wrestling Pairings: Boys and girls state tournaments run Thursday through Saturday in Sioux Falls
Eugene Hoffart, Redfield
Hoffart, now of Mankato (Minn.) was a two-time state Class B champion at 105 pounds for Redfield in 1981 and 1982 and also finished third in another state tourney.
He went 29-0 in 1980-81, scored the most points in the state and recorded the fastest pin (46 seconds). In April of 1981, Hoffart competed on the AAU Cultural Exchange Central All-State Team that wrestled a squad from Hesson, West Germany. He won his match at 114 pounds 7-0.
Hoffart is the father of a son and a daughter.
Gene Brownell, Aberdeen
Brownell is a graduate of Henry High School and Northern State University and spent 49 years in public school education as a teacher, coach and athletic administrator.
During his tenure as the athletic director of the Aberdeen Public Schools, he managed 14 state and numerous region wrestling tournaments. He started the Lee Wolf Tournament, which has become a popular single-day event for both South and North Dakota teams.
Brownell was named Coach of the Year and Athletic Director of Year twice, was a finalist for National High School Athletic Director of the Year and served on the South Dakota High School Activities Association's Board of Director. He has been inducted into the S.D. High School Coaches Association, S.D. High SChool Cross Country and Track and Aberdeen Central High School halls of fame.
He is a United States Army veteran, serving from 1969-71, and maintains membership in the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He and his wife Julie Ann have three grown children and three grandsons.
Region Wrestling: Twenty-six area grapplers capture region titles, 93 boys punch their tickets to state
Greg Lanners, Clear Lake
Lanners was a four-time State B place winner with two championships (1979 and 1980) and two third-place finishes for Clear Lake. He was named the school's oustanding wrestler in 1979 and made the National Interscholastic Honor Roll and Scholastic All-American Wrestling Team in 1980.
Lanners coached at Hamlin High School for five years (1982-86) and Deuel High School for anotehr five years in the early 2000s, earning Region Coach of the Year honors in 2004.
His son Brett and daughter-in-law Bailey are the parents to his two grandchildren.
Jon Madsen, Doland
The 1998 Doland High School graduate wa a five-time state qualifier and four-time state B place winner as a heavyweight (1994-1998), winning state titles in 1997 and 1998. He also finished third in 1995 and second in 1996.
After his senior season, he dropped down to 215 pounds and competed in the National High School Coaches Association Senior Nationals at Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1998 and advanced to the finals before losing in overtime.
Madsen continued his wrestling career at South Dakota, becoming a three-time NCAA Division II All-American, winning a national title as a freshman. he also added second and seventh-place finishes.
He later competed on television on season 10 of UFC's Ultimate Fighter where he was part of 11 episodes and later secured a contract with UFC. Madsen's exhibition and professional Mixed Martial Arts Record was 9-3.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: The 2024 South Dakota Wrestling Coaches Associationj Hall of Fame inductees
