One of Minnesota's finest "homegrown" wrestlers and coaches is Harry Schlieff. This Rochester native and later Plainview and Mounds View High School Head Wrestling Coach and Athletic Director achieved great success on the wrestling mat over the years. He also helped Minnesota High School Wrestling by serving as one of the original "State Tournament Committee Members" in the early 1970's, helping this great tourney become what it is today. Harry was a Minnesota State Wrestling Champion for Rochester High School in 1957 at 154 pounds. He also helped lead his team to a fifth place finish in State in the old "one class" tournament. In addition, he played football and ran in track, demonstrating his all-around athletic ability. One of Harry's wrestling coaches at Rochester High School was Hall of Famer, DeWayne Silker. Schlieff went on to wrestle at the University of Minnesota. He was a three year letter winner, Big 10 conference runner-up and a member of the "Gophers" Big 10 Championship team in 1959. He qualified for the NCAA national tournament three times (1959, 1960 and 1961). He was named Minnesota "Team Captain" and voted "Outstanding Wrestler" in 1961. After completing his athletic eligibility in 1961, Schlieff served as assistant wrestling coach at Minnesota in 1962. Graduating with a B.S. Degree with a physical education major and English minor, Schlieff took on his first teaching and head coaching position at Plainview High School, where he started the program in 1963-64. He then moved on to Mounds View High School, where he served as head wrestling coach from 1965 to 1981. He also served as assistant football coach in 1976 to 1977, becoming Athletic Director from 1987 to 1996. Along the way, Schlieff earned an M.S. Degree in Education from Winona State University in 1967 and a Specialist Degree in Outdoor Education from the University of Northern Colorado in 1978. Coach Schlieff had teams that excelled on the mat as he coached 24 state qualifiers and 3 state champions. He coached Mounds View on to two District titles, two Region runner ups and four teams placing third. He had an overall coaching record of 125-90-5. He also coached a two-time state champion in Jerry Tesch. Another of Schlieff's wrestlers was future Hall of Fame Coach Jim Short, Simley High School, who was a state runner-up for Schlieff at Mounds View High school. Among Harry's many honors are his inductions into the Dave Bartelma Minnesota Wrestling Hall of Fame, Region 4 "Athletic Director of the Year" in 1994, and being the first Inductee to the Mounds View High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004. He was also inducted into the 2005 Mounds View Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Rochester Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. Harry Schlieff has achieved many other accomplishments and helped his community and state with volunteer work. He has served on numerous committees such as the Salvation Army, Community Education programs and others. He has stayed active physically with biking, mountain climbing and canoeing. He even published a magazine article on biking. With all his accomplishments and endeavors he will be remembered most though for what his former longtime assistant coach Delmar Anderson says, "His knowledge of the sport and his concern for developing young men into responsible productive adults was always at the forefront of his coaching," Harry Schlieff played an instrumental role in the lives of many wrestlers and athletes in his long and distinguished career.