Growing up John Howard was not an athlete. Matter of fact throughout high school & college he never played football, he never wrestled & he never played golf. Yet when it came to coaching these sports, he more than proved he knew what he was doing. As a football coach, ten of his players went on to careers in either the NFL or the CFL, including names like Clint Didier & Ron East. In wrestling he lead his teams to Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) titles in 1971 & 1972, winning 53 duals in a row. He lead the men's golf team to ten NWAC titles.
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| Former Wrestling Coach John Howard |
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| Mike Fitzpatrick |
After winning a high school state championship for Richland High as a junior in 1969, he finished as the runner-up in 1970. Competing for the Hawks at Columbia-Basin, Fitzpatrick would never know defeat during his NJCAA career. In 1971 he went 25-0 winning the NJCAA championship. He'd add another NJCAA championship to his resume in 1972 with a 19-0 record.
He then transferred to Washington where he won a Midlands title, a PAC-12 title & finished in sixth place at the NCAA Division I championships.
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| Darrell Keller |
After winning a NJCAA title for the Hawks, Darrell Keller went on to Oklahoma State where he won back to back NCAA Division I championships in 1970 & 1971 for the Cowboys. He was named the outstanding wrestler at the 1971 championships.
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For the record Columbia-Basin no longer has a football program either.
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