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    Two-time NCAA champ Krieger to be inducted into Mason City High Hall of Fame

    Tim Krieger, two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champ at Iowa State, will be inducted into the Mason City High School Athletic Hall of Fame this fall, the Mason City Globe-Gazette reported Sunday.

    Tim Krieger
    Krieger was a three-time Iowa state wrestling champion at Mason City High in the early 1980s, compiling a career record of 103-6-2. However, Krieger gained attention beyond the state of Iowa because of his mat success at Iowa State, where he was a four-time NCAA All-American, winning national titles twice. As a Cyclone, Krieger went 116-3-2 in college. Over his prep and collegiate careers, Krieger's win percentage was an impressive 94.4 percent (219-9-4). For these reasons, the Globe-Gazette named Krieger its Athlete of the Century in 2000.

    Krieger won three consecutive state titles in 1982-84, winning 83 of his last 84 matches as a Mason City Mohawk mat star. As his hometown newspaper pointed out, Krieger dominated in his finals matches at the Iowa high school state championships, earning a 16-9 decision in the title bout as a sophomore, a 25-7 victory as a junior, and, pinning his way through the tournament as a senior, including a fall in the finals.

    "Without question, he's the greatest wrestler I have or ever will coach," Mason City High head wrestling coach Jerry Ray said after the 1984 state meet. "And he's probably the top high school wrestler I've ever seen."

    After graduating from Mason City High in 1984, Krieger headed south on I-35 to Ames, to wrestle at Iowa State. As a Cyclone, Krieger was a four-time Big Eight Conference champion, and the top seed for the NCAAs four consecutive years, the first college wrestler to earn that distinction, according to the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame. Krieger earned All-American honors each of those four years. He placed fifth as a freshman in 1986, was runner-up in 1988, and won the 150-pound title at the NCAAs in 1987 and 1989. At the 1989 NCAAs, Krieger was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler.

    No less than an authority on wrestling in the state of Iowa than Dan Gable weighed in on Tim Krieger's greatness, citing his technical abilities. "He had a style that was very hard to beat, very solid style in each position, especially he knew how to control athletes," said Gable, himself a three-time Iowa prep champ, Iowa State superstar, Olympic gold medalist, and dynasty-making head coach at University of Iowa. "I came up on the losing end when I was coaching anybody to be able to win against Tim."

    Prior to being welcomed into the Mason City High School Athletics Hall of Fame this fall, Tim Krieger was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame (a facility in Cresco, Iowa to honor amateur wrestlers and coaches born in the state of Iowa) in 2002.
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