During World War II, after his parents were removed from their California home, Ron Mirikitani and two siblings were born in a Japanese internment camp in Arkansas. Released with $50 after the war, the family drove to Kansas City -- the only town where restaurants had served Ron’s uncle, a U.S. soldier.

 Their decision to stay in that community, where they lived atop a garage, would become Missouri’s -- and wrestling’s -- gain.

 In his 38th year at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, Ron ranks first nationally among national junior college coaches with 438 career victories. He is a member of the NJCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Meramec Hall of Fame and a charter member of the Missouri USA Wrestling Hall of Fame.

 He serves as president of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), president of the NJCAA Wrestling Coaches Association and member of the USA Wrestling Board of Directors.

 But Ron’s wrestling immersion was somewhat delayed.

Twice all-state in football and a runner who placed in state track competition, he also claimed honorable mention all-city honors in basketball. His football coach, however, also coached wrestling and had a talk with the basketball coach. Soon Ron was cut from the hoops squad and became a wrestler.

 With a football scholarship, he entered Central Missouri State University (CSMU), where he wrestled three years and as a 130-pound junior, qualified for the national championships. He graduated in 1965 with a bachelor of science degree in physical education and biology.

 “I didn’t think I knew enough to be a good coach,” Ron recalled, so he became a grad assistant to legendary coach Harold Nichols at Iowa State University. “Nick was like a father to me,” Ron said. “When I went to Iowa State, I felt like I was going into a tunnel, and I came out into the light. They taught you how to think in wrestling, how to develop strategies.”

Before leaving Central Missouri, however, Mirikitani had also met the woman who would become his companion in his life and in his work.

 Jan Mirikitani had never seen wrestling before attending college, but at CMSU, she started a mat aides group called the Grapplettes. At Iowa State, Coach Nichols hired her to be the school’s first female scorekeeper, a position Jan also held at three national tournaments and the Olympic Trials.

 Ron spent two years with the Cyclones before serving a year with the Army Reserves, where he was trained as a medic. “My parents never said anything negative about the war,” he said. “They were a big influence on me.”
 Then he returned to ISU the same year Dan Gable was a freshman, earning a master’s degree and additional post-graduate credits.

 Ron coached high school wrestling in St. Louis for just one year before accepting the post at Meramec, where he has led the Magic to 27 consecutive winning seasons and coached 50 NJCAA All-Americans.

 When Ron began coaching, Jan made each wrestler an ascot with his weight class in the school colors. “That way everybody who saw them knew there was a meet that day,” Ron said.

 Former Meramec wrestler Mitch Shelton, who went on to become an All-American heavyweight at Oklahoma State University, recently said he remembered Jan peeling oranges and putting them in plastic bags for the wrestlers. “She was just like a mom to those kids,” Ron said.

 She’s also a mom to sons Jason, a member of the ministry in St. Louis, and David, a Meramec assistant coach for 15 years. A former two-time NJCAA All-American, David has joined his dad in the NJCAA and Meramec halls of fame. Ron and Jan are also grandparents of a girl, 6, and a boy, due in July.

 A professor of physical education at Meramec, a school of about 11,000 students, Ron teaches eight martial arts classes in judo, karate and self-defense. His expertise has led to his induction into four martial arts halls of fame, including the Martial Arts Association’s International Hall of Fame in 2005.

Although he has also taken on the duties of president of the NWCA, Ron’s association with the group began nearly two decades ago as the junior colleges’ representative. There he worked with former coaches Bob Bubb and Rick Lorenzo, who were instrumental in increasing the impact of the NWCA.

 “I have a lot of respect for both those men, and I was very impressed with them and their integrity,” Ron said.
“Back then, the NWCA was really a pretty small organization. They didn’t have the money; they didn’t have the clout, so those two men put in hours and hours to get it going. When two men of that caliber asked me to help out, I was more than willing.”

 And from the beginning, Jan has served the organization alongside him; in fact, in 2003, the couple received the NWCA’s Meritorious Service Award.

“Jan really loves wrestling, and she volunteered to do a lot of the work they needed to get done,” Ron said. “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

 “She turned down a lot of really good jobs to allow me to do what I enjoy and want to do. She’s an awesome woman.”
Intermat editor Jason Bryant agreed, “One of the biggest things that Ron has brought to the organization has been his wife, Jan. She’s a real sparkplug, very organized and very vital to helping with registration and our events at the NWCA Convention and NCAA Championships.

 “She’s like a hawk, too,” Bryant said. “I remember one year at NCAAs, I was walking by one of the clinics during a break, and someone tried to stroll in without a pass. She was on them in an instant.”

 As Ron’s record of victories continues to rise, other coaches often ask him, “How do you do it?”

 With characteristic modesty, he simply replies, “I’ve just been around longer than anyone else.”