Mike Lujan

Michael Lujan is from Rio Rancho, New Mexico. He founded and continuously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Santa Fe Junior Wrestling Program for 34 years. This strictly volunteer program involves elementary school youth from Santa Fe and several surrounding areas in wrestling by providing wrestling facilities, coaching and competitive experiences for over 1000 boys and girls annually. Mike has also offered the Lujan Summer Wrestling Camp for youth of all ages for the past 34 years. Over the years as a coach in wrestling, he has produced 28 state champions, over 100 AAU AllAmericans, and over ten national champions.

Mike obtained a bachelor’s degree in Colorado and began his first teaching job at an elementary school in 1974. Mike’s high school coaching career began in 1974, when he became the assistant wrestling coach for Santa Fe High, a position he held until 1980. In 1981, Mike took over the position of head coach and served in that position for 20 years. When he retired from active coaching, Mike became an ISS teacher at Santa Fe High School in 2000, a position he holds today.

In 2001, Mike was the AAU Grand Nationals tournament director He continued to support AAU activities in his state, serving as the New Mexico District’s AAU Wrestling Sports Director from 2003-2007. In 2007, he was elected to a position on the AAU National Wrestling Committee’s Executive Board, and still serves in that position.

Mike has received many honors throughout the years for his work with youth and wrestling. These honors included: a listing in America’s Who’s Who in High School Wrestling-1988; Scholastic Coach Magazine Award –1989; USA Weekend Most Caring Coach Award-1997; National Jefferson Award, given by the Pentagon to 7 individuals worldwide – 1997; written entry selected for Mat Snacks, a motivational book for wrestlers by Jack Spates-1998; featured in a lead article in Vista Magazine, a Spanish language magazine-1999; High School State Coach of the Year – 2001; AAU National Wrestling Committee’s Man of the Year– 2001; AAU New Mexico Volunteer of the Year –2001; Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame Promotion of the Year Award-2002; AAU Presidential Leadership Award-2003; Santa Fe Board of Education Silver ZIA Award2003; New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee-2006; and the Dan Gable American Needs Wresting Award N.W.C.A. –2007.

Perhaps the honor that will continue for many years happened in 2005 when the Santa Fe High School Wresting Room was named the Michael Anthony Lujan Wrestling Room.

Lanny Bryant

Lanny Bryant is a major force in the sport of wrestling. He burst on the scene in 1964 as the Editor and Owner of Wrestling USA Magazine. His well read wrestling history has published over 12,000 issues documenting every facet of the sport from the smallest Kid’s Tournaments in Montana to the largest tournaments in yearly cycles including the World Championships and Olympic Games.

Lanny’s earned a BA in 1962 and a Masters in 1964 from the University of Northern Colorado. Presently, Lanny is well on his way to a PhD in Biological Science.

From 1962 to 1970, Lanny taught Physical Education and Biological Science and served as Head Wrestling Coach in Worland, Wyoming. From 1970 to 1972 he was a Professor of Physical Education and Head Wrestling Coach at Western Washington State College. He spent the next twelve years teaching in the Missoula County High Schools and held the position of Head Wrestling Coach. From 1984 to 1987, Lanny was an Assistant Athletic Director at Montana State University and doubled as Head Wrestling Coach.

Lanny’s teams in high school won 241 duals, losing only 47 in 20 years. His matmen won State Championships in both Wyoming and Montana and he led his grapplers to nine unbeaten seasons. In college, Lanny coached Montana State’s first Conference Outstanding Wrestler and its first NCAA All-American Wrestler. He coached four NCAA Division I AllAmericans and three NAIA All-Americans during his coaching career.

Lanny started the Wyoming AAU, the Wyoming Wrestling Coaches Association, the Wyoming Cultural Exchange Program, the Wyoming Junior Olympic Program, the Montana Cultural Exchange, the Wrestling USA Dream Team Classic, and hosted the FILA Schoolboy World Championships in 1983 with thirteen foreign countries competing.

On the National and International scene, Lanny has coached Wyoming and Montana Cultural Exchange Teams to Japan, was National Coach of the Junior World Freestyle Team, National Coach of Junior World teams to Russia and Poland, National Team Leader of FILA Schoolboy USA World Teams twice, and was honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with its 2003 “Order of Merit Award.”

Wayne Baughman

Wayne Baughman is what wrestling is all about. For a small boy wrestling in Indian Games in Oklahoma, he has become a legendary leader in all he has accomplished in the sport.

Wayne’s records eclipsed almost everything in the recorded archives of American wrestling. For starters, he wrestled in twenty-five National Championships, three Olympic Championships, eight World Championships, and one Pan American Games. Then he coached two Olympic Teams, five World Championship Teams, and one Pan American Team.

Baughman’s record is unsurpassed: sixteen National titles; 2nd in the Nationals seven times; twenty-time AAU All-American; 1976 National Sambo Champion; two-time Olympic Team captain; Pan American Games captain and gold medalist; one of only two wrestlers to place in all three International Styles of wrestling; and one of only two wrestlers to make the United States Olympic Team in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman.

Wayne Baughman was a Big 8 Champion, NCAA Champion, National AAU Champion, US Federation Champion, four- time USAF Greco-Roman Champion, eight-time Inter-Service Freestyle Champion, and seven-time InterService Greco-Roman Champion. He recently retired as Head Coach of the USAF Academy after twenty-five years, and is now enjoying retirement with his wife, Betty, at their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

As a wrestling icon, Wayne has given so much more back to the sport in the form of service to the National AAU Wrestling Committee, the United States Olympic Committee, the United States Air Force, as an author of major wrestling histories, as an athlete’s representative, and as a beacon for all wrestling athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators to follow.

Lee Allen

Lee wrestled on the 1956 Freestyle Team and the 1960 Olympic Greco-Roman Team. Only two American wrestlers have ever achieved this feat. Among Lee’s prodigious achievements are: 1980 Olympic Coach – could not take part due to the boycott; Assistant Coach of the Olympic Team in 1972 and 1976; and 1998 Head Coach of the Women’s Pan American Team. As National Grecoroman Coach for five years, Lee was named “Coach of the Year” when his team placed 4th in the World Championships.

As Head Coach at Skyline College in California for thirty-two years, Lee added a women’s wrestling team to his program. The Lady Trojans promptly won the Northern California Conference Championship twice. While all this intercollegiate activity was taking place, Lee, who also coached the Lady San Francisco Peninsula Grapplers, hosted the first Women’s Wrestling Tournament in American history and won the Woman’s National Championship in 1977 and 1979. Lee helped found the Bay Area Wrestling Club.

Currently Head Coach at Menlo College in California, Lee’s two daughters, Sara Fulp Allen and Katherine Fulp Allen, won University National Titles at the University of Akron and are teammates on the United States University World Team which competed in Greece. Sara just defended her 105.5 pound National Championship representing the New York Athletic Club and sister Katherine won at 112 pounds also representing the New York Athletic Club. Lee says: “The girls have bought into the dream of being the best in the world.”

Lee started his amazing career by wrestling for Sandy High in Oregon where he was undefeated for four years and was a two-time PCI Champ and was named “Outstanding Wrestler” once. Lee attended the University of Oregon where he won his first NAAU title.

Lee’s wife, Joan, has been a coach to both Lee and the girls. She is full of pep and the family’s largest supporter. Lee it seems was a champion in the marriage game too.