In Section IV during the late 1970s and early 1980s, perhaps one of the names that brought trepidation to all lightweight 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 1960s.

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, New York.

Following graduation, Brad joined the legendary Iowa Hawkeyes led by Coach Dan Gable and proceeded to accomplish much more. In 1986 as a sophomore, Brad won the Big Ten Championships and was named the Outstanding Wrestler. He then won the 126-pound championship at the NCAA Championships in Iowa City, helping Iowa win the team title.

He captured Big Ten titles as a sophomore and junior and advanced to the NCAA finals both years.

Brad also made his mark at the international level before retiring in 1996, capturing a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships and a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 1989 and 1991. He also finished third at the 1994 Goodwill Games while capturing two Sunkist Open titles and two Roger Coulon titles. He competed in the 1989 World Championships and finished third at the World Cup in 1990 and 1991. He was a three-time U.S. Nationals champion and finished third at the Olympic Trials in 1996 and second at the Final Olympics Wrestle-Off in 1992.

He also had an outstanding career as a college coach, beginning as a graduate assistant coach for Iowa. He was an assistant coach at Arizona State for two years and for one year at Boise State. After working as an assistant coach for the University of Nebraska from 1992 to 1997, he became an assistant coach at the University of Northern Iowa.

Brad became head coach for the Panthers 2001 and was named Rookie Coach of the Year by Amateur Wrestling News.

He coached the United States team to a bronze medal finish at the 1999 Junior World Championships.

Brad's success as a wrestler and coach exemplifies the very best in our sport.

After concluding his coaching career, he joined Mudd Advertising in Cedar Falls, Iowa, embarking on a very successful career.

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 honor Brad with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award.