The Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame will honor seven outstanding individuals at its 2026 induction ceremony on October 4 in Edmond. 

Coaches Don Langham, Matt Surber, and the late Todd Glasgow, as well as officials Josh Briscoe and Mark Hudson will receive the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award. Lieutenant Colonel Tanner Garrett will be honored as an Outstanding American Award and Billy Simpson will receive the Medal of Courage. 

In addition to these traditional awards sanctioned by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Chapter will present its Madalene and Lee Roy Smith Family Award to the James Family from Del City. 

The Class of 2026 will be honored on October 4 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 2833 Conference Drive in Edmond. There will be a reception at 3 p.m. with a banquet at 4 p.m. and the ceremony at 5 p.m. Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased HERE or by contacting Howard Seay at c4dcowboys@aol.com or (918) 639-8868. 

The Lifetime Service award is presented to coaches, officials and contributors who have devoted a minimum of 20 years of service to wrestling. The Outstanding American award is presented to individuals who have used the disciplines of wrestling to launch notable careers in other walks of life such as science and technology, business and industry, and the arts and humanities. The Medal of Courage is presented to a former wrestler who has overcome what appear to be insurmountable challenges, which may be physical, mental or other disabilities that make their achievements all the more uplifting. 

The Oklahoma Chapter’s Madalene and Lee Roy Smith Family Award is given to a family with two or more members who have achieved significant success in wrestling and brought credit to the sport in the state. 

Oklahoma Chapter Class of 2026 

Josh Briscoe, Lifetime Service 

A 1993 state runner-up for Sand Springs High School, Josh Briscoe has dedicated more than 27 years to the sport of wrestling as one of Oklahoma's most respected officials. Throughout his distinguished officiating career, Briscoe has worked 14 Oklahoma State Wrestling Championships, four Dual State Championships, and numerous regional tournaments. Still an active official, his expertise has also led to extensive collegiate assignments, including nine NCAA Division I national championships, 13 NAIA national championships, five NJCAA national championships, and two NCAA Division II national championships. Josh's reputation has made him one of the nation's most sought-after wrestling officials. He has also been selected to officiate prestigious events, including the NWCA All-Star Dual, the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and the Midlands Championships. 

Todd Glasgow, Lifetime Service 

The late Todd Glasgow’s passion for wrestling started early. A member of the first wrestling team at Tonkawa High School, he earned the school's second state tournament medal and graduated in 1981 as a two-time state placer. Glasgow dedicated more than 25 years to coaching and education, helping build and rebuild successful wrestling programs at Blackwell Junior High School, Yukon Junior High School, Madill High School, and Putnam City West High School before moving into administrative leadership roles at Choctaw and Piedmont. He concluded his career in education as superintendent of Geary Public Schools. As a coach, Glasgow compiled an outstanding combined junior high and high school record of 128-32. He led Madill to back-to-back state championships in 1992 and 1993 and was named Oklahoma Coach of the Year both years. In 2000, Glasgow was selected to coach in the Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State Wrestling Dual. He also officiated for six years, calling four regional tournaments from 2002-2006. Glasgow’s influence extended far beyond wins and championships. He was a great ambassador for wrestling and helped grow the sport wherever he served, including the creation of the Oklahoma City All-City Wrestling Dual while he was working at Putnam City West. His passion was especially evident in his work with the historic Geary wrestling tournament, where he brought in nationally ranked teams like Blair Academy. Glasgow was also responsible for the creation of the Geary Tournament Hall of Fame. A member of the 1982 Northern Oklahoma College wrestling team, he played a critical role in bringing wrestling back to NOC working tirelessly to get the men’s program reinstated after a 41-year hiatus and starting a women’s program. His official title was Wrestling Fundraising Community Liaison, but per usual Glasgow did much more by volunteering countless hours to return wrestling back to the NOC campus. 

Mark Hudson, Lifetime Service 

Miami’s Mark Hudson was one of Oklahoma’s most-respected wrestling officials and served the sport with distinction for 22 years. Mark officiated Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, junior college and NCAA wrestling events from 1976 to 1998. The respect for Hudson’s officiating is evident in the fact that he was named OSSAA’s Outstanding Wrestling Official eight times. Hudson officiated three Bedlam matches during his career while also working numerous Big Eight and Big 12 matches. 

Don Langham, Lifetime Service 

Don Langham made a lasting impact on Oklahoma wrestling, coaching for more than 20 years with stops at Edmond Junior High, Mustang Junior High, Mustang, Geary, and Western Heights. As a competitor, Langham placed third at the 1970 Oklahoma state wrestling tournament helping lead Oklahoma City Southeast to a runner-up team finish. He was a two-time national qualifier for Central State University (now University of Central Oklahoma), and was a member of the 1974 team that had a runner-up finish at the NAIA national tournament. Langham started his coaching career at Edmond Junior High before beginning a long and successful career at Mustang. Following his time at Mustang, Langham coached and served as a principal at Geary before retiring. He came out of retirement to teach and coach at Western Heights, continuing his lifelong commitment to the sport of wrestling. Langham was the Mustang Junior High School coach from 1977 to 1982 and was the high school coach from 1983 to 1995. In his first season at the high school level he led wrestlers who he had developed in junior high to Mustang’s first conference, district, regional, and state titles. Sitting in ninth place after the first day of the state tournament, Langham’s wrestlers roared back in the consolation rounds to win the state championship without an individual champion. Langham earned the Coach of the Year award for his team’s efforts. During his career Langham coached numerous state champions and state place-winners, including Olympic gold medalist and National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member Kendall Cross and two-time national champion Keith Cunningham. 

Matt Surber, Lifetime Service 

Matt Surber is one of the most successful coaches in Oklahoma’s rich wrestling history. A state champion for Chickasha High School in 1993, Surber attended the University of Central Oklahoma and was a national runner-up in 1997. He qualified for the national tournament twice and was a member of UCO’s national championship team in 1995. Surber was also a two-time Academic All-American. He began his coaching career as a graduated assistant at UCO in 1999 followed by stints in Texas and at Chickasha. He became an assistant coach at Tuttle High School for Hall of Fame coach Greg Henning in 2006 and took over as head coach in 2007. After his first two teams finished fifth and third at the state tournament, Tuttle began a staggering run with 12 consecutive state championships, 11 straight Dual State titles, 10 straight Academic state championships and 13 consecutive regional titles. Under Surber, Tuttle was nationally ranked for eight straight years and compiled a 192-15 dual record. Surber coached 138 state placers, including 106 finalists and 65 state champions. He was named Oklahoma Coach of the Year multiple times and was an Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association All-State coach in 2021. Surber was a finalist for the National Federation of State High School Associations Coach of the Year in 2016 and for USA Wrestling’s Developmental Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016. Two examples of Tuttle’s dominance are winning the 2019 Dual State tournament without losing an individual match and outscoring its opponents 209-0, and the 2020 state championship team crowning a state record nine individual state champions. Surber left a legacy at Tuttle that continues today with 18 consecutive state tournament team titles and 17 Dual State championships in a row. He is an active promoter of wrestling in Oklahoma, serving as OWCA president and executive director, Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association advisory board member, OKUSA board member and national team coaching staff member, director and head coach of the Tiger Wrestling Club, NFHS wrestling rules committee member, and Cowboy Regional Training Center board member.

Tanner Garrett, Outstanding American 

A dedicated and highly decorated member of the United States Army, Tanner Garrett demonstrated his leadership abilities early as he was instrumental in getting wrestling started during his junior year at Cascia Hall Preparatory School. He only wrestled one full season, but made the most of it, going 31-1 and earning a state runner-up medal. Garrett then went on to excel in the classroom and on the mat at the United States Naval Academy. A three-time NCAA tournament qualifier, he finished his career with a 114-33 record, including leading the nation in wins as a senior with 43. Garrett won the Naval Academy’s prestigious Calvert Award, which is awarded to the top varsity letter winner from any sport selected as the most outstanding in leadership, loyalty, and consistent effort in every field. He is also the only two-time Weems Award recipient, an award presented to the wrestler displaying aggressiveness, determination, good sportsmanship, and team spirit. Following graduation in 2006, Garrett was deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, as an Airborne Ranger-qualified rifle Platoon Leader with the 101st Airborne Division. In 2009, Garrett passed the Special Forces Assessment and in 2012, he earned his Special Forces tab and Green Beret. He served in multiple command and staff positions with the 4th Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) from 2012 to 2016 and 2018 to 2020. From 2020 to 2024, Garrett served as Special Operations Command Europe in the Operations Directorate, responding to crisis and conflicts in both the Middle East region known as Levant and Eastern Europe. From 2024 to 2026, Garrett served as the Program Director for Special Operations Campaign Artistry Program and was selected for Special Operations Battalion Command in 2026. 

Billy Simpson, Medal of Courage 

Billy Simpson set the Cushing High School record for most takedowns and finished third at the Oklahoma state wrestling tournament to end his junior season with a 42-2 record. He had a bright future in wrestling entering his senior season, including a scholarship to wrestle for Campbell University in North Carolina. Simpson’s goal of ending his high school career with a state title was halted by a freak accident on December 22, 2017 while participating in two-a-day practices during winter break. During live wrestling, Simpson was lifted in the air and landed square on the crown of his head. He never felt the impact, going limp and face down as he lost feeling from his C3 and C4 vertebrae down the length of his spine. Simpson endured a grueling two-hour ambulance ride to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Surgery was performed the next morning. Doctors originally predicted that Simpson would be a quadriplegic, but that devastating news changed after feeling came back in all four of his limbs. Due to scar tissue in his esophagus, doctors had to install a feeding tube. When doctors put a feeding tube through his nose, it was discovered that his right lung had collapsed requiring another immediate operation. Following successful completion of that operation, Simpson was moved to Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado, which specialized in spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. When he arrived, he could limp around, but remained in a wheelchair. Doctors, at first, tried preparing Simpson for life in a wheelchair. Simpson’s faith, determination and will to get better led to miraculous improvement, including some that wasn’t supposed to happen. Time after time, Simpson faced rehabilitation tests he could not initially complete, but through grit and determination, he fought through the pain until he was able to complete the tasks. Surrounded by others also recovering from spinal or traumatic brain surgery, Simpson found himself once again in a leadership position, displaying a positive attitude and encouraging others through their rehab and recovery efforts. Simpson defied his doctor’s projections and returned home to Cushing after 42 days. One of the first things he did was head to Oklahoma City to help coach his younger brother, Kaiser, to a third-place place finish at the Junior High All-State Tournament. After the tournament, head coach Ladd Rupp offered Simpson an opportunity to sit in the corner at the regional and state tournaments. He was part of the team again. At the state tournament finals, Simpson received a standing ovation when presenting medals to the 160-pound place-winners, including teammate Gage Hockett. Following graduation, Simpson continued his remarkable recovery and earned a degree in finance from Oral Roberts University and a master’s degree in Christian Ministry from Liberty University. Simpson also returned to wrestling and continued to give back to the sport as an official. Since beginning in 2018 he has worked five regional tournaments and two state tournaments. Simpson regularly shares his faith and the story of his amazing recovery at churches, Fellowship of Christian Athletes events and more across the nation. 

The James Family, Madalene and Lee Roy Smith Family Award 

The success of the James Family is well known to Oklahoma wrestling fans, beginning with brothers David (DJ to most) and Ronnie, and continuing with Ronnie’s sons, Zack and Cody, David and Ronnie were both state place-winners, but neither won a high school state title. That all changed at Central State University (now University of Central Oklahoma) where DJ was a two-time national champion and four-time All-American and Ronnie was a three-time national champion and a four-time All-American. Named head coach of his alma mater in 1982, DJ led the Bronchos to unparalleled success over the next 34 years while being named national Coach of the Year seven times. Under his leadership UCO won seven NCAA Division II titles and five NAIA titles for 12 total national championships. In addition to championships, the Bronchos earned five runner-up finishes and 24 top-four finishes while also capturing 19 NCAA DII regional titles. DJ coached 48 individual national champions, 182 All-Americans and compiled an amazing dual record of 329-63-1 against non-Division I schools. He continues to give back to the sport serving as an assistant coach of high school powerhouse Edmond North the past several years. Ronnie coached alongside his brother as an assistant coach at UCO helping lead the team to three straight NAIA titles. He then returned to Del City and coached the Eagles from 1988 to 2014. During his 26-year career, Ronnie coached 21 state champions and 81 state placers while leading his teams to 18 district titles and the 1992 Dual State championship. State placers coached by Ronnie include his son Zack, who was a three-time state placer for Del City. He was named Region 8, Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association Class 5A and Oklahoma Coaches Association All-Class Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1998 and Class 5A/6A Coach of the Year in 2014.