Salos to be inducted into wrestling hall of fame
NewsSports | Published on April 2, 2024 at 2:59pm GMT+0000 | Author: Tucker Henderson
0Induction ceremony set for May 4
Dean and Doug Salo will be inducted into the David Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame. The induction dinner will be held on Saturday, May 4 at McKinney’s on Southside in Benson, Minn. The night will include a social hour at 4 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m. and induction ceremony at 5:30 p.m. The cost to attend the dinner is $35 for adults and $22 for children.
In order to attend the event, contact Steve Ricard at (320) 843-4508 or by email at slricard200@gmail.com.
In addition to Dean and Doug Salo, 2024 inductees include: Luke Eustice, Athlete; Ty Eustice, Athlete; Wes Haglund, Coach; Mike Hendrickson; Coach; Chuck Marks, Coach; Jim Richardson, Contributor; Dean Salo, Coach; Doug Salo, Coach; Ray Thorkildson, Coach and Mike Thorn, Athlete.
Pioneer Recipients: Ardell Knudsvig (started the program in Ada, Minn.), Gary Brantl (started the program in Plummer, Minn.) and Chuck Keogh (started the program in Waubun, Minn.)
Dean Salo, coach and Doug Salo, coach
Dean Salo attended New York Mils High School, graduating from there in 1983. He attended Moorhead State and later graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in Education.
Dean was a six-time Park Region Conference Champion and a three-time Region 6 champion. Dean earned a record of 158-25-2. He was a three time state place winner: fourth in 1981 at 126 lbs., MN Class A 138 lbs. state champion (first state champ in New York Mils) in 1982, and second at 138 lbs. in 1983.
He was an assistant coach at Staples High School, a head coach at Menahga, and head coach at Perham. While coaching in Perham, Dean’s teams produced seven state entrants, three place winners and a state champion. He also spent several years coaching youth wrestling in New York Mills.
Doug Salo attended New York Mills High school, graduating from there in 1980. His wrestling record was 79-58-1. He was a two time Park Region Conference Champion. He attended Moorhead State, graduating in 1985 with a degree in Elementary Education.
Doug coached in New York Mills from 1986-99, earning a record of 151-75-3. His teams won 18 tournament titles and 9 Park Region Conference titles. His teams produced 28 state entrants with 12 place winners and 3 state champs. He served as an assistant coach from 1999-2023. He has dedicated over 40 years to the sport of wrestling. He has taught fifth grade for 38 years.
Dean and Doug have had a profound influence on not only New York Mills wrestlers, but wrestlers in Perham, Staples, and Menagha. They gained the reputation of being absolute class acts with a strong commitment to excellence. Several of their wrestlers have given back to the sport by virtue of being a coach and/or a wrestling official. They are not boastful about accomplishments; they just worked hard and continue to help develop good wrestlers and better people.