Missouri Wrestling
As we celebrate the start of a new high school and college wrestling seasons, let’s take a moment to remember three Missouri coaches that passed away in the last month.
Denker guided the Mules’ wrestling program to national prominence during his 17-year tenure as head coach. Highly respected as a coach, educator and administrator, Denker coached the Mules to seven MIAA championships and six top 20 finishes at the NCAA Division II Championships. Three times he was voted MIAA coach of the year. The Mules had 10 All-Americans and 63 national qualifiers under Denker. His 143 dual match wins are the most in Mules’ wrestling history.
In addition to his wrestling coaching duties, Denker also was an assistant football coach for the Mules from 1963 to 1972 and taught in the physical education department. He also served as acting athletics director for the 1980-81 school year. He retired from coaching after the 1980-81 season and retired from teaching with the rank of professor emeritus in 1993. He has been previously inducted into the South Dakota Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Missouri Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Mules have one of their open tournaments each season named in his honor.
Charlie Sherertz.
“I have witnessed thousands of coaches come and go through the tunnels of the Hearnes Center and Mizzou Arena. Some are loud, some are not. Some bring an iron fist while others the deft-ist of touches. Some carry an air of superiority, yet others blend in and are unassuming.Bryan was a coach you could count on to do it the best for his kids. Not saying he might not have pushed the boundaries (shared a coach’s pass or two) but when it came to his wrestlers and his wrestlers’ wrestlers he was in their corner all out. I appreciated watching him work with kids and tutor young coaches. For me, from afar, he provided the confidence a young wrestler needed when taking the Arena floor for the first time, the firmness of resolve of coaxing a kid through the backside and the sheer joy when another Panther stood atop the podium. I will miss watching him coach in person but know every Panther will have that third coach in their corner forevermore.” – Lou Mazzocco
