Gray Simons

As a wrestler, Gray Simons was known as a superb technician, gifted with quickness and the ability to execute to perfection an infinite variety of moves. Gray’s ability to execute moves helped spread the “Granby Series” of moves that were developed by his high school coach, Billy Martin in Virginia. Gray wrestled collegiately at Lock Haven University where he was a fourtime ll5 pound NAIA National Champion, a three-time NCAA Champion, and a two-time recipient of the Outstanding Wrestler Award at the NCAA Tournament. During his four years of collegiate competition, he entered seven national tournaments, won all seven, and was voted the outstanding wrestler at six of them. Gray won 84 consecutive matches after losing twice during his freshman season for a career record of 91-2. He continued to wrestle after graduation while stationed at the U.S. Military Academy and continued winning championships in military, YMCA and AAU competitions. He won the gold medal in the 1963 World Military Games and competed for the United States in the Olympics in 1960 and 1964.

Gray began coaching in 1964 at Lock Haven where his teams won two NAIA Championships and compiled a record of 59-10-1. He was named Coach-of-the-Year in 1966 and 1967. He coached at Indiana State from 1970 to 1975 and at Tennessee from 1975 until 1986 when Tennessee dropped its wrestling program. While at Tennessee Gray coached ten wrestlers that became All-Americans. He then moved to Old Dominion where he coached until his retirement at the end of the 2004 season. Gray coached for 36 years with his teams compiling an over-all career record of 324-144-5.

Gray has received many honors for his wrestling accomplishments. He was named to the Helms Foundation in 1971, the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1975, a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1978, the Lock Haven State Hall of Fame in 1981, the United States Achievement Hall of Fame in 1982, the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1983, the All-Time Collegiate Wrestling Team by Amateur Wrestling News in l988, and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Terry Williams

Terry grew up with AAU Wrestling in Montana. He began wrestling in 6th grade when an AAU program started in Sidney and he competed in the first AAU tournament in Montana in 1969. He wrestled in high school and for two years in college at Dickinson State College in North Dakota.

Terry began officiating youth wrestling tournaments while he was still in college. He realized he enjoyed this aspect of wrestling and has continued officiating wrestling events and been a member of the Montana Officials Association for over 30 years. During that time he officiated at 24 divisional and 9 state high school tournaments. He has also been honored to be selected to officiate at the AAU Scholastic Duals Wrestling Tournament in Orlando for nine years.

Terry also began his involvement as an AAU coach with the Sidney program. This led to more involvement at the state and national levels, including attending both state and national conventions. In Montana, Terry served as the Eastern Montana Division Wrestling Chairman for 20 plus years, and was the Montana AAU President from 1998 until 2002. At the national level, Terry is currently serving at the national AAU level as a member of the National Wrestling Executive Committee. Terry has also been involved as a team leader and organizer. In 1990 he was a team leader for a group of wrestlers that traveled to Russia, and then helped organize a return visit from the Russians. In 1996 he organized the first national tournament trip for Sidney wrestlers, which then became an annual event for the wrestlers of Sidney and the surrounding area. Terry also put together the first Montana team to attend the AAU Middle School National Tournament in 2000, and has been attending them every year since. To date this has grown to 3 teams, giving 90 Montana wrestlers the opportunity to get national wrestling experience. Terry was also instrumental in getting a Montana team to attend the Scholastic Duals in Orlando.

Terry received the Montana Outstanding Contributor Award in 1998, the National Wrestling Committee’s AAU Association Person of the Year in 2001, the AAU National Wrestling Committee’s Willard T Vandivier Award in 2006, the AAU Presidential Leadership Award in 2006 and the AAU Outstanding Folkstyle Official in 2007.

Terry and his wife Luanne, have three children. Over the years they have all become involved in wrestling, with Luanne, and occasionally daughter Jenny, helping in the pairing room, and sons Jesse and Nathan both wrestling and serving as youth representatives at Montana state conventions. Terry continues to be involved in wrestling at the local, state and national levels.

Larry Kristoff

Larry Kristoff has been called one of America’s all-time great heavyweight wrestlers; however his credentials as a successful coach are equally impressive. Larry is a member of the NCAA II Wrestling Hall of Fame as both a wrestler and a coach.

In college at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Larry was the Heavyweight National Champion at the first two NCAA College Division Tournaments in 1963 and 1964, leading his team to second and third place finishes in those two tournaments. He also placed second in the l964 NCAA University Division Nationals as a senior. After graduation, Larry represented the United States in international competition. From 1964 through 1971 he won five World medals for the U.S., 3 silvers and 2 bronze. He represented the United States in the Olympics twice, placing seventh in 1964 and fifth in 1968 He also won 12 senior national titles, including nine in freestyle and three in Greco-Roman. He was also a gold medal winner at the 1967 Pan American Games. Larry’s over-all career record, including high school, college and international wrestling was 313-13.

While still competing internationally, Larry began his coaching career at Carbondale Community High School where he had a record of 28-4. Two years later he began coaching at Division II Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He led the team to three consecutive NCAA titles from 1984-86 and coached the team to top 10 finishes 18 times. Twelve of his wrestlers combined for a total of 18 NCAA Division II national titles, and when Division II wrestlers could still compete in the Division I tournament, eleven of his wrestlers earned All-American honors at that level. During Larry’s coaching tenure at Southern Illinois University, 111 wrestlers were named Division II All-Americans. Both of Larry’s sons, Kip and Mark, were both 4-time All-Americans and national champions. In l974 and 1985 Larry was named the NCAA Coach of the Year.

Larry also coached at the international level for many years. He served as head coach of the 1975 and 1976 World Cup teams and was also a staff member of the U.S. World Team for many years. Larry retired from 30 years of coaching in the spring of 1999.

Larry and his wife, Doris, currently reside in Anna, Illinois. His many contributions to wrestling, both as a competitor and coach, have earned Larry much respect in the world of wrestling. He was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007.