Brad Penrith
In Section IV during the late 1970's and early 1980's perhaps one of the names that brought trepidation to all light weight wrestlers was Penrith. In this time frame the Penrith brothers, Brad and Bret, caused many wrestlers and their coaches to lose a night's sleep. Arguably one of the best brother combinations in the history of wrestling in Section IV, the Penriths won tournament after tournament. Many wrestling historians were comparing them to Mark and Randy Payne from Sidney in the 1960's. Today the Upstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to honor one of the greatest wrestlers to represent the section, Brad Penrith. During his four years at Windsor High School Brad finished fourth, third and first in the New York State Wrestling Tournament that was held at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, NY. Following graduation Brad left Windsor High School and joined the legendary Iowa Hawkeye Coach Dan Gable and proceeded to accomplish much more. In 1986 wrestling as a sophomore at Iowa, Brad won the Big Ten Championships and received the Outstanding Wrestler award at the conference meet. Then he proceeded to win the 126 pound weight class at the NCAA championship which was held in Iowa City. He defeated Dennis Semmel from the US Military Academy 9-4 and helped Iowa win yet another NCAA title for Gable. As a junior and senior at Iowa Brad each year won the Big Ten championships and was runner-up each year in the NCAA championships. Penrith also made his mark on the international level before retiring in 1996. He captured a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships and was the gold medalist at the Pan American Games in 1989 and 1991. In addition, Brad was third at the 1994 Goodwill Games; was a two-time Sunkist Open champion; took the Roger Coulon title in France in 1992 and 1996; was a member of the 1989 U. S. World Team; and took third at the World Cup in 1990 and 1991. Furthermore, he placed third at the 1996 Olympic Team Trials; won the U. S. Nationals three times '1989, 1991, and 1993' and was second at the 1992 Final Olympic Wrestle-Off. Brad also had an outstanding career as a college coach. He served as the graduate assistant coach at Iowa after graduation in 1988, assistant coach at Arizona State for 2 years, and then worked at Boise State for 1 year. From Boise, he worked from 1992 to 1997 as the assistant coach at the University of Nebraska for Tim Neumann and moved on to be the assistant coach at the University of Northern Iowa before he was elevated to the head coach position for the Panthers. In 2001 Brad was selected by Amateur Wrestling Magazine as the Rookie Coach of the Year. Moreover, in the summer of 1999 he was the head coach of the United States team that took the bronze medal in team competition at the Junior World Freestyle Championships in Sydney, Australia. In addition, in 2005 Brad was inducted into the Dan Gable Museum's Hall of Fame. Brad's success as a wrestler and coach exemplifies the very best in our sport. After leaving coaching, Brad joined Mudd Adverting in Cedar Falls, Iowa and has embarked on a very successful career in that field. Brad and his wife, Laura live in Cedar Falls with their three children, Gabriel, Jacob and Grace. The Upstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud and privileged to induct Brad into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Brad Penrith was a three-time NCAA finalist for the University of Iowa at 126 pounds and captured the 126-pound championship in 1986. He also won three Big Ten titles and won a silver medal at the World Championships in 1991, as well as gold medals at two Pan-American Games. In 1992 he was the only American to be ranked number one in the world. Serving as head coach at the University of Northern Iowa since 2000, Penrith has led the Panthers to three finishes in the top 20. He is a native of New York .
Awards:
Year
2017
|
Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
|
Chapter/Region
New York - Upstate
|
Year
2005
|
Award
Glen Brand Inductee
|
Chapter/Region
National
|
All American Awards:
Season
1988
|
School
Iowa
|
Tournament
Division I
|
Weight
126
|
Place
2
|
Season
1987
|
School
Iowa
|
Tournament
Division I
|
Weight
126
|
Place
2
|
Season
1986
|
School
Iowa
|
Tournament
Division I
|
Weight
126
|
Place
1
|
College Season Records:
Season
1988
|
School
Iowa
|
Class
Senior
|
Bouts
44
|
Wins
41
|
Losses
3
|
Ties
0
|
Falls
4
|
Win PCT.
93.18
|
Place
2nd
|
Season
1987
|
School
Iowa
|
Class
Junior
|
Bouts
17
|
Wins
15
|
Losses
2
|
Ties
0
|
Falls
1
|
Win PCT.
88.24
|
Place
2nd
|
Season
1986
|
School
Iowa
|
Class
Sophomore
|
Bouts
15
|
Wins
14
|
Losses
1
|
Ties
0
|
Falls
2
|
Win PCT.
93.33
|
Place
1st
|
Season
1985
|
School
Iowa
|
Class
Freshman
|
Bouts
21
|
Wins
16
|
Losses
5
|
Ties
0
|
Falls
1
|
Win PCT.
76.19
|
Place
DNW
|
Season
Career
|
Bouts
97
|
Wins
86
|
Losses
11
|
Ties
0
|
Falls
8
|
Win PCT.
88.66
|
All Coaching Dual Records:
Season
2010
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
22
|
Wins
10
|
Losses
12
|
Ties
0
|
Win PCT.
45.45
|
Season
2009
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
16
|
Wins
10
|
Losses
6
|
Ties
0
|
Win PCT.
62.5
|
Season
2008
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
13
|
Wins
7
|
Losses
5
|
Ties
1
|
Win PCT.
53.85
|
Season
2007
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
17
|
Wins
7
|
Losses
9
|
Ties
1
|
Win PCT.
41.18
|
Season
2006
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
18
|
Wins
8
|
Losses
8
|
Ties
2
|
Win PCT.
44.44
|
Season
2005
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
15
|
Wins
8
|
Losses
7
|
Ties
0
|
Win PCT.
53.33
|
Season
2004
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
16
|
Wins
10
|
Losses
6
|
Ties
0
|
Win PCT.
62.5
|
Season
2003
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
18
|
Wins
12
|
Losses
6
|
Ties
0
|
Win PCT.
66.67
|
Season
2002
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
15
|
Wins
7
|
Losses
8
|
Ties
0
|
Win PCT.
46.67
|
Season
2001
|
School
Northern Iowa
|
Division
Division I
|
Duals
19
|
Wins
11
|
Losses
8
|
Ties
0
|
Win PCT.
57.89
|
Season
Career
|
Duals
169
|
Wins
90
|
Losses
75
|
Ties
4
|
Win PCT.
53.25
|
All Rankings:
Season
1988
|
Rank Date
12/14/1987
|
Weight
126
|
Rank
1
|
School
Iowa
|
Season
1988
|
Rank Date
12/31/1987
|
Weight
126
|
Rank
1
|
School
Iowa
|
Season
1988
|
Rank Date
02/22/1988
|
Weight
126
|
Rank
1
|
School
Iowa
|
Season
1988
|
Rank Date
03/07/1988
|
Weight
126
|
Rank
1
|
School
Iowa
|
Season
1988
|
Rank Date
03/17/1988
|
Weight
126
|
Rank
1
|
School
Iowa
|
Season
1987
|
Rank Date
03/19/1987
|
Weight
126
|
Rank
1
|
School
Iowa
|