Charles City native Duroe to be inducted into NWCA HOF

To the Press

MOUNT VERNON – Cornell College head coach Mike Duroe will be one of six inductees in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Hall of Fame later this week as part of a kickoff ceremony to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio.

Duroe, in his 13th season at the helm of Cornell’s wrestling program, will be enshrined in the 2018 Hall of Fame Class with coaches Bruce Haberli (New York University), Marty Nichols (Ithaca) and wrestlers Blake Gillis (Wartburg), Phil Lanzatella (St. Lawrence) and Stephen Rivera (Trenton State).

The Hall of Fame event starts with a social at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in The Westin Cleveland Downtown Orchid West (sixth floor). The Hall of Fame Ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m.

Duroe, a native of Charles City and a 1978 graduate of Drake University, is the fifth Cornellian selected to the NWCA Hall of Fame. The Cornell fraternity includes wrestling contributor Dick Simmons (2016 inductee), four-time all-American Shawn Voigt (2002) and coaches Steve DeVries (2011) and Barron Bremner (1993).

For his 38 years of commitment to the sport, Duroe was presented with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Iowa Chapter during a Jan. 14 dual meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Last month, Duroe was named an honorary coach for Team USA at the 2018 Freestyle World Cup coming up in April.

Duroe is Cornell’s all-time coaching leader for dual wins with a 144-100-2 record. Since his arrival in 2005-06, the Rams have fielded 47 NCAA qualifiers, 19 all-Americans, five NCAA finalists and one national champion. This weekend will mark the 13th consecutive year Cornell has qualified multiple individuals for the NCAA Championships.

Duroe, the 2009-10 Iowa Conference Coach of the Year, has directed the Rams to nine Top-25 NCAA team finishes in the last 11 years. Cornell claimed back-to-back Top-10 showings in 2008 (seventh) and 2009 (eighth). The Rams also placed 10th in 2016.

Duroe’s impact on wrestling goes well beyond Cornell College. He’s served on the Team USA men’s freestyle coaching staff at six consecutive Olympic Games dating back to 1996, in addition to coaching senior-level and junior-level World Teams each year since 1993.

Duroe was selected USA Freestyle Coach of the Year in 2005, and tabbed Volunteer Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee twice (2006, 2007). He spent three years as the USA Wrestling national resident coach at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Duroe was head coach of Guam’s freestyle team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Duroe has been instrumental in the growth of women’s wrestling. He coached the 1999 U.S. women’s team to its first World Team title in Boden, Sweden.

Duroe has long been involved with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, serving as head coach from 2003-05. He had other collegiate coaching stints at Northern Michigan, University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern University.

Duroe was a four-year letterwinner and two-time team captain at Drake. He wrestled four years on the U.S. National Team (1981-84) and was crowned National AAU Freestyle Champion in 1983.