Gone, Lost & Forgotten: Their Best = Northwest Missouri State

It's amazing what you find out doing research sometimes.  Come to find out Northwest Missouri State's final assistant coach was Bob Yilek, who went on to have tremendous success as the head coach of Belle Plaine High school in Iowa.  My high school wrestled Belle Plaine multiple times throughout duals & tournaments.  Every one I ever wrestled from Belle Plaine was a state qualifier, one was a state champion & one went on to be a Welterweight World Series of Fighting champion. That's the sort of talent Yilek produced. 

I haven't been able to find out a lot about Northwest Missouri State wrestling but I do know that they ruled the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) during the conference's last years of sponsoring wrestling as a sport.  The Bearcats won team titles in 1984, 1985 & in MIAA's last year of sponsorship 1986.   1986-1987 was the final year for Bearcat wrestling & no longer having sponsorship from the MIAA had at least something to do with why the program was discontinued. 

Kirk Strand
126 lbs 

Strand made NCAA Division II All American status in 1982 with a fourth place finish.  He went on to become the lead Pastor at Brandon Valley Assembly of God. 

Wayne Lake
177 lbs 

Also a member of the Bearcat football team, Lake made the NCAA Division II finals in 1984 & then took fourth place in 1986.  

Bill Eaton
190 lbs  

Eaton earned NCAA Division II All American status in 1984 with an eighth place finish.