Mike Hess (Deceased) Meadowdale Middle School 1966-1968 Edmonds High School 1968-1990 Edmonds Woodway High School 1990-2000 Mike's personal wrestling career started at Warden High School and continued at the University of Washington. His passion for the sport continued as he taught and coached in the Edmonds School District for 34 years. From 1955 to 1968 Hess was the head wrestling coach for Meadowdale Junior High. From 1968-1990 he led the Tigers of Edmonds High School, and when the school merged as the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors he continued as head coach until his passing in May of 2000. Hess led his teams to numerous honors, including District Titles, Regional Championships, and an Academic State Championship. Coach Hess was involved in every aspect of wrestling in the State of Washington. He was the WSWCA president for ten years. Following his term as president, he became the Cultural Exchange Director. He was responsible for sending teams to Japan, Russia, Bulgaria, and Norway. He was also instrumental in bringing the first Russian high school team to Washington. In addition to his work here in Washington, Mike was a national and international level referee. He was recognized as the FILA Official of the Year, the National Official of the Year and was chosen by USA Wrestling as the Espoir University Leader of the Year. His involvement in international freestyle events led to him being asked to be the Director of Competition at the 1990 Goodwill Games and his greatest thrill was his assignment as Staging Director for Freestyle Wrestling at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. Hess has received almost every award Washington State wrestling has to offer, including the Tomaras Award in 1992 and being named Washington State Coach of the Year in 1988. Mike was inducted into the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000. Mike Hess passes away on May 9, 2000, in Las Vegas where he had been a referee at the US Open National Wrestling Championships He leaves us with a legacy of a passion and love for the sport of wrestling. Mike said that his greatest achievement was not the state champions but the graduates his teams produced. His reward for coaching was watching the success of his athletes after high school as they became leaders in the community.