As the Battle of Waterloo moves into its second decade, the Hall of Fame will begin to recognize State Championship Teams from Waterloo and BOW Participants (wrestlers, coaches, and officials).
In early 2009, Jeff Frost, then athletic director at Waterloo West, approached Brenton Shavers, East High Athletic Director, about an idea to host a tournament similar to the highly successful Clash in Rochester, Minn.
Frost wanted an event that celebrated the great history of wrestling in Waterloo, a city that had won more prep state championships, produced more individual state champs and crowned more NCAA individual national champions than any other city in Iowa.
After consulting with others in the Waterloo wrestling community, the Battle of Waterloo was born.
The inaugural event “exceeded everything I imagined or thought it would or could be,” Frost told Jim Nelson of The Courier. “It was a tremendous, tremendous experience to watch. And it all goes back to so many people’s hard work as a committee who had a similar vision.”
Fans, coaches, wrestlers, and officials all lauded the event – and now the Battle of Waterloo is entering its second decade!
As the Battle of Waterloo moves into its second decade, the Hall of Fame will begin to recognize State Championship Teams from Waterloo and BOW Participants (wrestlers, coaches, and officials).
Each year the Battle of Waterloo inducts a new class of former coaches, wrestlers, officials, or community supporters into the Battle of Waterloo Hall of Fame The 2020 inductees are:
East – Jim Barman 2X State Champion 1959, 1960
West – Akeem Carter 2X State Champion 2001, 2002
Jim Nelson – Waterloo Courier
Jeff Frost – Co-Founder and Tournament Director
Brenton Shavers – Co-Founder and Tournament Director
BOW Participant – Brandon Sorenson – 4X BOW Participant, 4X State Champion, 4X All-American
Click on names with in each year to see more information on each honoree.
East High 1983 State Championship Team
West High 1989 State Championship Team
Columbus High 2004 State Championship Team
East – Jim Barman 2X State Champion 1959, 1960
West – Akeem Carter 2X State Champion 2001, 2002
Jim Nelson – Waterloo Courier
Jeff Frost – Co-Founder and Tournament Director
Brenton Shavers – Co-Founder and Tournament Director
Brandon Sorenson – 4X BOW Participant, 4X State Champion, 4X All-American
Kirk Sallis – Waterloo Central
Bob Boesen – Waterloo Columbus
Ken Snyder – Waterloo Columbus
Kevin Evans – Waterloo Courier
Since Iowa High School Athletic Association began sponsoring the state wrestling tournament, Waterloo has produced 160 State Champions and 26 Team Titles.
Beginning in 1936 to 1980, the City of Waterloo produced at least one State Champion every year except for 1951 – stretches of 15 and 28 years. In 1957, eight of 10 weight classes contested were won by either a Waterloo East (5) or Waterloo West (3) wrestler.
In 1964, East and West each had four state champions. Waterloo West had an 88-Match Win Streak under Coach Bob Siddens from 1968 – 1975 (the national record at the time). The city has also produced:
Jimmie Stoyanoff (1940-42)
Dick Hauser (1944-1946)
Tom Huff (1957-59)
Paul Stinson (1963-65)
Dan Gable (1964-66)
West High School
Jack Wilcox (1939-40)
Leo Thomsen (1945-46)
Lowell Lange (1945-46)
Del Rossberg (1954-55)
Don Huff (1956-67)
Paul Miller (1961-62)
Dale Anderson (1963-64)
Rod Harp (1970-71)
Tony Cordes (1971 and 1973)
John Bowlsby (1973-74) Matt Dickey (1990-91)
Akeem Carter (2001-02)
East High School
Wes Sterner (1949-50)
Jay Hollins (1957-58)
Bill Dotson (1957-58)
Virgil Carr (1957-58)
Bob Buzzard (1958-59) Jim Barman (1959-60)
Dave Saddler (1961-62)
Don Buzzard (1963-64)
Tony Stevens (1966-67)
Kyven Gadson (2009-10)
Columbus High School
Joe Gibbons (1978-79 & 1980-81 at Ames)
Waterloo West (17): 1942, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 52, 55, 59, 65, 66, 67, 69, 71, 72, 77, 89
Waterloo East (8): 1953, 57, 58, 60, 61, 63, 64, 83 Waterloo Columbus (1): 2004
Waterloo West (88)
Waterloo East (56)
Waterloo Central (4)
Waterloo Columbus (10)
Dale Anderson, Michigan State (1967-68)
Rich Binek, Iowa State (1973)
Russ Bush, Northern Iowa (1947)
Dan Gable, Iowa State (1968-69)
Jim Harmon, UNI (1953)
Dick Hauser, Cornell (1947)
Lowell Lange, Cornell (1947, 49-50)
Mike Van Arsdale, Iowa State (1988)
Stewart Carter, Iowa State (1987)
Chuck Yagla, Iowa (1975-76)
Joe Gibbons, Iowa State (1985)
Bill Dotson, UNI (1963)
Jim Miller, UNI (1974-75)
Ken Snyder, UNI (1974-75)
Ken Gallagher, UNI (1980)
Jamal Fox, Wartburg (1996)
Akeem Carter, Wartburg (2004-05)
Kyven Gadson, Iowa State (2015)
Dan Gable, 1972 (Gold)
Bob Buzzard, 1972
Chuck Yagla, 1980
Waterloo Orange (2)
Lisbon wins 2019 Battle of Waterloo
Charles City wins 1st Girls Title, Final 4 Set for Boys at Battle of Waterloo
Girls’ Division premieres at Battle of Waterloo
Coach Chuck Patten to be inducted into Battle of Waterloo Hall of Fame
Waverly-Shell Rock wins Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo wrestling tournament at Young Arena in downtown Waterloo.
Prep wrestling: Battle of Waterloo turns 10 Friday
Hall of Fame Reception
Wednesday, December 13
5-7 p.m.
National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Dan Gable Museum
303 Jefferson ST. Waterloo, Iowa 50701
