Wrestling HOF induction ‘icing on the cake’ for Trees

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

DES MOINES — Though he considered it a great honor, being inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in front of 18,000 fans at Wells Fargo Arena just before the final bouts of the State Wrestling Championships wasn’t the highlight of the past season for Doug Trees.

“Having my own school name its invitational after me ranks above them all,” Trees said of long-time North Butler’s Invitational that now bears his name.

“It shows that they still remember me,” Trees said. “You can say this (HOF induction) is icing on the cake.”

A lifelong Greene resident, Trees was a four-time state qualifier for the Bearcats during an era when there were only eight qualifiers in each weight class. Trees earned a pair of back-to-back runner-up finishes — he lost in the finals twice by 2-0 decisions — before claiming titles at 112 pounds in 1968 and at 120 in 1969 while winning 59 of his final 60 bouts of his high school career.

The two-time prep All-American continued his wrestling career at North Iowa Community College where, as a freshman, he won his weight class at the UNI Open, the Iowa University Invitational and the Iowa Junior College Championships.

A serious injury ended his wrestling career, though he has remained active in the sports and is a major supporter of North Butler wrestling.

The Trees family legacy in Greene remains intact. Two of Trees’s sons, Chad and Nate, were state qualifiers with Nate winning a state title in 1997.

One of Trees’s grandsons, Bryce Trees, just finished his freshman season in the 106-pound weight class with the Bearcats.

“He did pretty well,” Trees said of Bryce’s 20-plus-win debut, “but probably not as well as he would have liked.”

When asked if he ever gives coaching advice to his grandson, Trees said, “I don’t get involved in coaching anymore. I don’t want to hurt myself.”