Mound Westonka Inducts Six Former Greats into Hall of Fame
February 24, 2009
The Mound Westonka wrestling program inducted the inaugural class into
the Mound Westonka Wrestling Hall of Fame. At the January 29th dual
with Annandale-Maple Lake, former Mound alumni Dick Iacono and Charlie
Coffee received this great honor. On Friday, February 13, Jake Saatzer,
Dave Alexander, Cory Leopold and Gary Erdman were inducted before the
finals of the Leopold-Haglund Invite. Listed below are the impressive
accomplishments of this year’s class:
Jake Saatzer:
Jake was a 2007 graduate of Mound Westonka High School, and was captain
his junior and senior year. Jake was a six-time all-conference
selection in both the Metro Alliance and Wright County conferences, and
was part of four conference championship and two section runner-up
teams. Jake was a five-time state entrant, two-time section champ, and
three-time state place winner, with third place finishes in his
sophomore and junior year. Jake capped off his senior year with a 40-1
record, and was the class AA 140 pound state champ. Jake holds the
Mound Westonka record for career victories with 211, which also ranks
in the top twenty in the state. Jake is currently pursuing a career in
education, and is a member of the Augsburg wrestling team.
Dave Alexander:
Dave was a 1981 graduate of Mound Westonka High School, and was a
captain his senior year. Dave was a two-time state entrant, region
champ, four time Chisago Lakes champ, and three-time Burnsville Invite
champ, where he was voted the Outstanding Wrestler his senior season.
Dave ended his career with an impressive 79-12 record. Dave continued
to support Mound Westonka wrestling, serving as an assistant coach
under Howard Leopold, and later coaching the community ed youth
program. Dave was also a founding member of the Mound Wrestling
Organization, which serves as the booster club for all of the K-12
programs.
Cory Leopold:
Cory was a 1988 graduate of Mound Westonka High School where he
compiled a 116-17-3 record, was a three time state entrant, and placed
third in state his junior year. He also led the Mohawk wrestling squad
to the 1988 Region 6AA championship and their first ever trip to the
state team tournament. Following his senior season, he was selected as
a member of the Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Classic team. Cory went on to
college at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he became an NAIA
All-American by placing 6th in the 1991 national tournament. Cory is
the son of Howard (a long time coach at Mound Westonka) and Carolyn
Leopold of Mound, MN.
Gary Erdman:
Gary was a 1960 graduate of Mound High School, serving as captain his
senior year. Gary was a four-time region champ and four-time state
place winner. After earning a third place finish in his freshman year,
Gary went undefeated the remainder of his career, earning three state
titles and becoming one of the few three time state titlists of his era
and the only wrestler from Mound to achieve that feat. Gary had an
absolutely dominating senior season, where he set a Mound record with
twenty pins in a row and had only two points scored on him. Gary stills
lives in the Mound area and was proud to be a Mohawk!
Dick Iacono:
Dick was a 1947 graduate of Mound High School where he was a four-time
state place winner, three-time finalist, and a state champion his
senior year. Dick was also part of Mound’s only state championship team
in 1947. Dick also placed 3rd, 2nd, and 1st in the state AAU
tournament, with his team tying for first in 1949. Dick was
instrumental in starting a freestyle club in his hometown of Osseo,
which produced several state place winners and champions, including
Olympic bronze medalist Jim Martinez. Dick was also the tournament
director for the School Boy Olympics, which included wrestlers from
several nations. Dick has six sons, which fueled his desire to be a
part of the world’s greatest sport.
Charlie Coffee:
Charlie was a 1956 graduate of Mound High School, where he was a four
time state place winner, three time finalist, and state champion his
senior year. Charlie continued his impressive career after high school
where he was captain and all-American at the University of Minnesota,
U. S. Army Champion, two-time National AAU Champion, 3-time member of
the U.S. World Teams, and 1st Team Alternate for two Olympic teams.
Charlie went on to coach at Bloomington Jefferson High School for 35
years, and is a member of the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Wrestling
Hall of Fame, National Greco-Roman Hall of Fame and the Bloomington
Jefferson Hall of Fame.
