It would be impossible to talk about the history of high school wrestling in Minnesota without mentioning Canby High School and the coach that created that success, Gerry Gingles.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Canby was one of the premiere programs in the State of Minnesota, capturing five state championships.

The small-town school even finished runner-up in the old one-class state tournament in 1975, a remarkable feat competing with the large school teams.

Always represented at the state tournament from Region 3 under the dual-meet format, Canby had an incredible run of 18 consecutive trips to state, an unprecedented accomplishment at the time. Making it even more impressive was that their region was considered one of the toughest in the state, meaning there were no easy trips to state from Region 3.

Canby always seemed to be among the favorites to win the state title. Gingles led his teams to region titles from 1976 to 1980 and 1983 to 1992. It should be noted that Gingles did not coach in 1981 and 1982.

He coached nine individual state champions and had a career record of 337-79-10.

Gingles was named Minnesota Coach of the Year in 1977 and was inducted into the Bemidji State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Dave Bartelma Minnesota Hall of Fame in 1990.

He wrestled under the guidance of fellow Hall of Fame honoree Chet Anderson at Bemidji State.

Known for his seemingly calm demeanor at mat side, Gingles demonstrated to observers that wrestling was taught in the room and his wrestlers knew what to do at match time.

His quiet demeanor certainly was appreciated by officials, and his personal character was above reproach.

Gerry Gingles was one of the greatest coaches in Minnesota high school history and a true legend in our sport.