Gone, Lost & Forgotten: Their Best = Marquette

Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin the Marquette Golden Eagle wrestling program began in the 1968-1969 season & was dropped for the final time after the 2005-2006 season.  Throughout Marquette's history the program was dropped and reinstated on several occasions.

Phil Burek 

Phil Burek has an outstanding career fro the Golden Eagles, accumulating 120 victories, qualifying for the NCAA championships in 1966 & 1967.  He also placed fourth at the Midlands tournament as a senior.

Harlow Hellstrom 

Growing up in Chicago, Harlow Hellstrom actually played basketball in high school.  Thinking that wrestling looked interesting he decided to give it a try in college.  By his junior season, he more than got the hang of it.  During his last two seasons of 1951-1952 & 1952-1953, he won thirty seven matches.

Bill Kumprey
167 lbs 

One of Marquette's most successful wrestlers, Bill Kumprey had 146 career victories during his four years of varsity wrestling.  During his junior & senior seasons, he lead the nation in falls.  As a senior in 1993, he won 49 matches, 32 of them by fall in route to a sixth place finish at the NCAA championships.

Barney Karpfinger 

Karpfinger never lost a dual while wrestling for the Golden Eagles going 21-0 in three seasons on the varsity.  Post his graduation in 1954, he found himself taking over the Marquette wrestling program for the 1955-1956 season after the head coach quit and they needed an immediate replacement.  He took over the job giving everyone the understanding that this was only a temporary ordeal for him.

After the 1977-1978 season, Karpfinger finally decided that if he stayed much longer, that it might turn into something permanent.  A lover of the wrestling, most of the youth, junior high & high school programs in the Milwaukee area started because of Karpfinger.

Fred McGaver 

Ironically enough, Marquette qualified through both the East Regional and the West Regional during their time in wrestling.  McGaver won a East Regional title in 1979 & then won a West Regional title in 1980.  He was one match shy of being an All American in 1980 as well.