Eight San Diegans inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame

SAN DIEGO, June 2006 -- The mission statement of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, located in Stillwater, Okla., is thus:

“The future of American society depends upon the existence of strong citizenry, comprised of individuals with leadership qualities based upon self-discipline, self-reliance and self-confidence.

“Because the sport of wrestling helps build these characteristics in youths, regardless of their physical, economic, cultural or geographic backgrounds, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame seeks to broaden the understanding and development of these values:

“Through recognition of those who have demonstrated these characteristics while achieving or developing excellence in the sport as wrestlers, coaches and/or contributors;

“Through recognition of those who have demonstrated these characteristics while achieving excellence in other walks of life after participation in wrestling;

“Through the maintenance of documentation and memorabilia that depict and preserve the history of the sport;

“Through stimulation and encouragement of those who establish and conduct wrestling activities at all levels nationwide and … those who continuously strive to enhance the image of the sport at the state and national levels.”

Hilltop High School wrestling coach Tim Tyler can lay claim to most of the above during his long history of involvement in the sport, first as a competitor, then as a wrestling official and now as a coach. He was among the most recent class of California coaches, officials and contributors to be recognized with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

The award, which was presented to eight individuals from San Diego County, is given annually to coaches, officials or contributors who have given a lifetime of service to wrestling, their communities and, most importantly, to the young people they have coached, taught, motivated and inspired.

To those unfamiliar with the sport, this may be the highest honor bestowed upon an individual.

The name of each inductee is displayed on a plaque at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Oklahoma. The last time the awards took place in San Diego was in 1999.

Only 12 individuals in San Diego County have ever received the award. Tyler is the first South County coach to be so inducted.

Think of it as the Cooperstown or Canton for high school sports.

“It’s been a fun deal. It’s a very surprising and humbling honor,” the Hilltop coach said.

Tyler, who has coached since 1981 within the Sweetwater district, understandably wore a very wide smile when it came time to taking memento photographs after the awards ceremony. He said he was especially honored that he was inducted at the same time as his former coach at Mesa College, Alfred S. Walker.

The Hilltop coach, who called it a “humbling” experience to be inducted alongside Walker, also was named High School Wrestling Coach of the Year for California as bestowed by the California Coaches Association.

Tyler accepted the award on behalf of all the South County coaches. “It’s an honor for all us guys in the South Bay who have tried hard to make wrestling work,” Tyler said.

“I feel pleased to be recognized by the San Diego area. It was nice to go in with my junior college coach.”

Tyler graduated from Madison High School where he competed on the mat for the Warhawks as one of the top 180-pounders in the county before suffering an injury his senior year in 1971. He subsequently wrestled at Mesa College and earned a scholarship to continue his wrestling career at San Diego State University. He wrestled two years at SDSU before the Aztecs dropped the program. He was a teammate at Madison of Jim Steiger, who would later make the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team.

Tyler began his coaching career in 1976 as a junior varsity coach at Central Union High School in Imperial Valley. Prior to coaching at Hilltop, he became the head wrestling coach at Castle Park High School in 1981 and Bonita Vista High School in 1985 when the sport was reactivated by the district. He has coached at Hilltop since 1987.

While coaching during the early part of his career, he served 16 years as a wrestling official, presiding over the San Diego County Wrestling Officials Association for two years as president.

In his long and successful coaching career, Tyler has won 11 league titles, four San Diego Section division titles (1995, 1997, 1999 and 2006) and earned three Metro Conference Coach of the Year awards. His teams have posted six top 10 finishes at the San Diego Section Masters championships. During his tenure at Hilltop, he has had 34 individual division champions, four Masters champions and 11 state qualifiers. His dual meet coaching record stands at 152-29-1.

The 2005-06 scholastic season was especially rewarding for Tyler and his coaching staff as the Lancers won the South Bay League dual meet championship, Metro Conference tournament championship, San Diego Section Division II championship and had one wrestler — senior John Sardella — qualify to compete at the state championship meet.

Tyler also accompanied the Hilltop boys basketball team to China as a chaperone this past spring.

Del Vogel, who attended the induction ceremonies and has been an assistant coach at Hilltop since 1994, indicated that Tyler was living the wrestling dream.

“Tim wasn't my friend when I went there, just somebody I had recently met,” said Vogel, a graduate of Sweetwater High School who competed on the mat during Tyler’s own high school wrestling days. “I stay now because he is my friend. My own son Dustin came back to coach for him. Tim is very deserving of all of the honors. He plays by the rules to win.”

“It’s been a fantastic year for myself,” Tyler said. “I got to experience so much, enjoy going to China and we won the CIF title.”

The induction ceremonies, held at the MCRD Officers Club, were presided over by Dan Dierdorff, a state committee member, California chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and himself an honored member of the National Hall of Fame, and Mike Clair, chairman of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame state chapter program.

Joining Tyler and Walker as lifetime service honorees were Jose Campo (Mt. Carmel High School), Joe Mount (posthumous), John Shindle (posthumous), Jon Talbott (Mira Mesa High School), John Thompson (Patrick Henry High School) and Buddy Wilkerson (Cal Western University).

Wilkerson, who most recently coached at El Cajon Valley and Santana high schools, has had a major impact on modern wrestling in San Diego County after helping form the San Diego Junior Wrestling Association out of four independent club programs, thus providing thousands of children the opportunity to learn the sport through this organization.

Wilkerson began his coaching career in 1959 at the Keylock Junior Wrestling Club and became the coach at Cal Western University (United States International University) in 1970. He also served as the All-Navy coach in that same era.

One of Wilkerson’s wrestlers at USIU was Bonita Vista coach Gabe Ruz, a former member of the Mexican Olympic wrestling team.

“One of the things I felt was appropriate having the ceremony at the MCRD officer’s club was that we used to train at the NTC,” said Ruz, who enjoyed a long coaching career at Montgomery High School before later taking up the reins at Bonita Vista. “Driving up to the place, I pointed out where we used to run.”

During his three years in the program under Wilkerson, Ruz finished third at the NAIA twice while also recording a fifth-place finish.

“We were one heck of a squad if they had kept it going,” Ruz said of those Wilkerson-coached teams.

Mount, who worked at Rohr Industries in Chula Vista, enjoyed the full spectrum of wrestling as a competitor in New York in the 1930s, as a coach at the YMCA, boys club and high school level and lastly as an international wrestling official. One of his many career highlights was being able to coach his son Tom, an alternate on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team. Mount competed on the mat duntil the 1980 National AAU Masters championships.

Talbott, who began coaching in 1972 as a graduate assistant, has coached at Mira Mesa since 1984, compiling a 186-38 win-loss record with eight City Conference titles.

Campo, who started his coaching career in Brentwood, N.Y., in 1976, has coached at Southern Connecticut State, Yale University and Palomar College, among others. Campo has also officiated at the high school and collegiate levels and in 1993 was named the National High School Coach of the Year. He has written a book, “Wisdom from the Corner.”

Thompson has coached at Patrick Henry from 1996 onward, winning 261 matches against 120 losses, claiming nine team championships and producing 104 league champions and four division champions. He helped found the Senior World Championships in 1979.

Shindle coached the San Diego Naval Training Center wrestling team for 32 years, hosting the National Training Center Invitational that was regarded as the largest and most competitive tournament outside of the NCAA. He helped bring teams from Japan, Canada and Mexico to the training center and also assisted in the formation of the 1979 World Senior Championships hosted in San Diego.

The eight inductees join previously recognized coaches Ned Blass (El Cajon Valley/Valhalla), Bill Clauder (Monte Vista), Wayne Branstetter (Poway) and Glen Takahashi (Valhalla).

The Tim Tyler File
San Diego Section
Team Championships
1995: first, Division III
1996: second, Division III
1997: first, Division III
1999: first, Division III
2000: second, Division III
2006: first, Division II

San Diego Section
Masters Champions
Ryan Hunt
Ron Major
Sergio Santillan (twice)

State Meet Qualifiers
Tommy Sorensen - 2nd 1994, 2nd 1995
Ryan Hunt - 1st 1996, 2nd 1997
Sergio Santillan - twice 1st 2003, 1st 2004
Steve Kende - 3rd in 2004
Chris Kuenzi - 3rd in 1996
Gabe Saludares - 4th in 1995
Matt DeYoung - 3rd in 2004
Ron Major - 1st in 1999
Frankie Ibarra - 2nd in 2000
Chris Angelo - 3rd in 2001
Bryan Scambler - 2nd in 2004
John Sardella - 3rd in 2006


Buddy Wilkerson, Cal Western University
Wilkerson, who most recently coached at El Cajon Valley and Santana high schools, has had a major impact on modern wrestling in San Diego County after helping form the San Diego Junior Wrestling Association out of four independent club programs, thus providing thousands of children the opportunity to learn the sport through that organization.

Wilkerson began his coaching career in 1959 at the Keylock Junior Wrestling Club and held that position until 1967 when he became coach at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton. Wilkerson became the coach at Cal Western University (United States International University) in 1970. He also served as the All-Navy coach in that same era. He helped rebuild programs at both El Cajon Valley and Santana high schools in the 1990s with the help of his son, Buddy Wilkerson Jr. The elder Wilkerson closed out his coaching career in 1996 as an assistant coach at Santana.

Joe Mount, officiating
Mount, who worked at Rohr Industries in Chula Vista, enjoyed the full spectrum of wrestling as a competitor in New York in the 1930s, as a coach at the YMCA, boys club and high school level and lastly as an international wrestling official. One of his many career highlights was being able to coach his son Tom, an alternate on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team. Mount competed on the mat until the 1980 National AAU Masters championships.

Mount began his wrestling career as a member of the Ithaca, N.Y. YMCA in 1936. His coaching career encompassed many levels, and he also pursued an interest in officiating, serving in that capacity at international matches, high school and AAU matches. His financial contributions helped support programs at USA Wrestling, Cal Poly and Cornell University.

Tom Mount won three San Diego Section individual championships while competing at Mt. Miguel High School (106 pounds in 1974, 115 pounds in 1975 and 130 pounds in 1976).

At the local level in his later years, the elder Mount served USA Wrestling as both a pairer and as a mat official, and also left an imprint on high school wrestling at Fallbrook High School.

Jon Talbott, Mira Mesa High School
Talbott, who began coaching in 1972 as a graduate assistant, has coached at Mira Mesa since 1984, compiling a 186-38 win-loss record with eight City Conference titles. He served as freshman coach at Brawley High School in 1973 and in 1975 became coach at Delano High School. He accepted an assistant coaching position at Serra High School in 1979 and remained there until 1984 when he became coach at Mira Mesa High School. Talbott received the Model Coach Award for 2003-04. He is a member of the and National Wrestling Coaches Association, California Coaches Association and a board member of the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.


Jose Campo, Mt. Carmel High School
Campo, who started his coaching career in Brentwood, N.Y., in 1976, has coached at Southern Connecticut State, Yale University, Martin County High School, Jordan High School, Palomar College and Mt. Carmel High School. Campo has also officiated at the high school and collegiate levels as well as serving as a team photographer for several universities. In 1993 he was named the National High School Coach of the Year and in 2005 received the Coaches of Influence award. He has written a book, "Wisdom from the Corner."

John Thompson, Patrick Henry High School
Thompson has coached at Patrick Henry from 1996 onward, winning 261 matches against 120 losses, claiming nine team championships and producing 104 league champions and four division champions. A member of the San Diego Wrestling Coaches Association, California Teachers and Coaches Association and National Wrestling Coaches Association, he helped found the Senior World Championships in 1979.

Alfred S. Walker, Mesa College
Walker began coaching high school in 1959 and his teams had compiled three championship titles and two runner-up finishes until 1965, at which time he entered the collegiate coaching ranks, where he remained until 1980. Though win-loss records are not available, Walker had an impact on many individuals during his nearly 25 years as a college coach.

John Shindle, Navy wrestling
Shindle coached the San Diego Naval Training Center wrestling team for 32 years, hosting the National Training Center Invitational that was regarded as the largest and most competitive tournament besides the NCAA Division I tournament. He helped bring teams from Japan, Canada and Mexico to the training center and also assisted in the formation of the 1979 World Senior Championships hosted in San Diego.

For more information on the National Wrestling Hall of Fame state chapter program, call (858) 452-6790 or e-mail dandierdorff@san.rr.com.