PUEBLO – A trio of former Colorado School of Mines wrestling greats will make their way into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame's 16th class when John Simpson, Glen Frank and longtime coach Dan Lewis are officially inducted on Thursday, March 8, 2012.
The ceremony is in conjunction with a reception for coaches and dignitaries participating in the 50th Annual NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, also held in Pueblo on March 9-10. This year's class includes five individuals inducted into the "athletes" category and two entering the Hall as coaches. These seven inductees will join the 89 inductees from the first 15 induction classes as Division II Wrestling Hall-of-Famers.
Joining the Mines trio is former current New Mexico Highlands head coach Doug Moses and grapplers former CSU-Pueblo grapplers Dax Charles and Chris Currier, as well as Troy Barbush of Pitt-Johnstown.
John Simpson (1996-1999) – Wrestler
When John Simpson graduated from Colorado School of Mines in 1999 with a degree in civil engineering, he had already left his mark on the Mines wrestling program. A four-year letterwinner on the Orediggers wrestling squad, Simpson posted a 69-29 record during his last three seasons.
Simpson finished second at the RMAC Tournament as a freshman and was part of the Colorado School of Mines wrestling squad that finished seventh at the 1996 NCAA Division II National Championships – the highest finish for a Mines team since taking fourth in 1964.
Simpson posted a 20-15 record during his second year, including a fourth-place finish at the Western Regional and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Tournament – earning him his first career All-American honor. The consummate student-athlete, Simpson also earned his first of three Academic All-American honors during his sophomore campaign.
As a junior during the 1997-98 season, Simpson posted a 21-10 record that included a first-place finish at the Western Regional and a National Championship at 184 pounds – the seventh individual national champion in the history of the Colorado School of Mines wrestling program. Simpson earned his second All-American honor in two seasons and was also named an Academic All-American for the second time in as many years. He was also named CSM's Male RMAC Honor Student-Athlete.
As a senior at 184 pounds, Simpson finished second at the Western Regional before finishing third at the 1999 NCAA Championships – his third-straight NCAA All-American honor. With his collegiate wrestling career over, Simpson was showered with many academic honors including being named an Academic All-American for the third-straight year, being named the Colorado School of Mines Outstanding Graduating Scholar-Athlete and being named the Colorado School of Mines Outstanding Graduating Civil Engineer. Also in 1999, Simpson was a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Citation Winner as well as CSM's RMAC Honor Student-Athlete for the second time in as many seasons.
After graduating from CSM in 1999, Simpson went on to earn his master's degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich.
He was inducted into the Colorado School of Mines Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 and now works as a civil engineer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He is an Engineers Without Borders member and was a Peace Corps Volunteer and spent his service time in Honduras.
He is married to CSM assistant women's soccer coach Kate Cortis and the couple resides in Golden, Colo.
Glen Frank (1989-1993) – Wrestler
One of two athletes to capture four All-American awards for the Colorado School of Mines wrestling program, Glen Frank posted a 121-20 career record during his time as an Oredigger.
A valuable starter from the time he set foot on campus, Frank ended his freshman campaign with a 14-5 overall record, including a Western Regional Championship at 126 pounds and the first of four All-American honors after finishing sixth at the NCAA Division II National Championships.
As a sophomore, Frank finished with one of the highest single-season win totals in CSM history after recording a 40-8 overall record (.833 win percentage) en route to his second-straight Western Regional Championship (134 pounds) and All-American laurel after finishing seventh at the NCAA Division II National Championships.
Frank continued to improve over his career, and as a junior in 1990-91 he posted a 41-5 overall record (.891 win percentage), including a third-straight Western Regional Championship (134 pounds) and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships – his third All-American honor in as many seasons.
As a senior during the 1992-93 season, Frank finished 26-2 overall on the way to a fourth-straight Western Regional Championship (134 pounds), a fourth-straight All-American honor and his first career NCAA Division II National Championship. He was also won the Most Falls in the Least Time Trophy at the National Tournament that season.
Following his collegiate career, Frank was also a gold medalist at the 1994 Pan-American Games in Greco Roman wrestling (57 kg) in addition to being a three-time Olympic Team Alternate (1988, 1992, 1996) in Greco Roman wrestling.
Always a competitor, Frank was a place winner at 18 different national wrestling championship tournaments in three different styles and was also a finisher at the Leadville Trail 100-Mile footrace.
A 1994 Colorado School of Mines graduate with a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Frank went on to receive his master's degree in Engineering from CSM in 1998. From there, he embarked on a professional career that saw him first become an engineer and later a manager in the tunneling and underground construction industry.
A 2001 Colorado School of Mines Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Frank is the author of over 20 papers that have been presented at national and international tunnel industry conferences.He and his wife, Pamela, have four children: Coralyn, Lillianna, Mica and Allison.
Dan Lewis (1992-2001 and 2007-2010)
Coach Lewis began his wrestling career at Fountain Valley High School and captured the California Interscholastic Federation championship in 1971 while posting a 30-0 record with 23 pins. Lewis proceeded to take third place at the high school national tournament held at Oklahoma State University.
Lewis began his collegiate career at Orange Coast Community College, where he recorded 42 falls in two seasons. A two-time All-American at Orange Coast C.C., Lewis transferred to Cal State - Fullerton for his final two seasons.
At Cal State - Fullerton, Lewis was selected as the team's Most Outstanding Wrestler in 1975 and 1976, capturing conference titles both years (177 pounds). Lewis was 17-0-1 in duals in 1976 and qualified for the NCAA Championships in 1977. Lewis left the program with a school-record 30 career pins and an overall record of 67-6-1 in two seasons.
Lewis' coaching career began at Louisiana State University, where he was an assistant coach from 1980-82. Lewis served as the head coach at Cal State - Fullerton for the next 10 seasons, leading the Titans into the NCAA Top 25 in 1990 and 1991. Seven of Lewis' wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships in 1991, and the team finished with a 13-8 record.
Dan Lewis spent 13 seasons as the head coach at the Colorado School of Mines before retiring after the 2009-10 season. He spent the 2010-11 season as an assistant coach on staff. Lewis, who returned for his second stint as the Orediggers' head coach in 2007-08, also served in the same capacity at CSM from 1992-93 to 2001-02. Lewis relinquished his duties as CSM's Associate Director of Athletics prior to the 2008-09 season. In 2007-08, CSM compiled a 4-6-0 record in RMAC duals (5-10-0 overall) and earned recognition on the National Wrestling Coaches Association's NCAA Division II All-Academic Top 15 Teams list.
The Orediggers, who came in at #15 on the NWCA's 2007-08 list, also landed four individuals on the 2007-08 NCAA Division II All-Academic Wrestling Teams (Cody Weitzel, Kellen Costelow, Chris Saykally, Bobby Strain). Four of Lewis' previous teams at CSM secured the NWCA's All-Academic Team Championship, and in the 15-year history of the award, no other school has won more All-Academic Team Championships than Colorado School of Mines, which has earned the honor on five occasions (1994-95, 1995-96, 1997-98, 1998-99 and 2005-06).
During his first 10 seasons guiding the Orediggers (1992-93 to 2001-02), Lewis coached four NCAA Division II National Champions and 10 All-Americans. After leading the Orediggers to a seventh-place finish at the 1996 NCAA Division II National Championships, Lewis was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year. Even more, Lewis coached a pair of national champions and three All-Americans during the 1995-96 season.
He was named the RMAC Co-Coach of the Year in 1996.
Lewis resides in Golden, Colo. with his wife, Megan. The couple has a son, Dylan, and a daughter, Serena.
