Rochester, Mn-
On the eve of the start of the 2018 NJCAA National Wrestling Championships in Council Bluffs, Iowa, one long-time coach and administrator from the Minnesota College Athletic Conference, has been recognized as one of only three 2018 Hall-of-Fame Inductees. The 2018 class year's will be officially inducted at the NJCAA national championship on Saturday, February 24 in connection with the championships held today and Saturday at the Mid-America Center on the campus of Iowa Western Community College. Two other NJCAA wrestling standouts, Gregg Moore (Triton College, IL) and Michael Shearer (Muskegon CC, MI) will join Purcell in receiving the elite honor.
Bob Purcell led the Minnesota West Blue Jay wrestling program for 20 years before retiring from coaching in August, 2017. Purcell was earn a pair of MCAC Coach-of-the-Year awards while patrolling the gym at the Worthington-based campus. In addition to Conference honors, Purcell was named the NJCAA Man of the Year in 2014.
According to the NJCAA release, Purcell began his tenure at Minnesota West in 1997 and guided the Bluejays to multiple conference and Region XIII Wrestlers of the Year awards. Several Blue Jay teams rose to earn NJCAA Region XIII championships and produced multiple individual national tournament qualifiers. A point of pride for Purcell is that during his time as head coach, Minnesota West produced at least one All-American at every weight class, resulting in a total of 22 honorees over that span.
The NJCAA release goes on to note that Purcell's accomplishments go beyond the mat. During his time at Minnesota West, the Blue Jays recorded a graduation rate of 90.0%, an honor Purcell believes to be one of his best.
Purcell served a four-year active duty tour as a Combat Medic for the Department of Army. Purcell earned bachelors degrees from Minnesota State University - Moorhead in the fields of Health Services, Physical Education, and School Health Education. Purcell went on to earn a master's degree from North Dakota State University in Education Activities Administration.
According the NJCAA website, Purcell recognized his entire family to his success, especially his daughters Lily and Lucy for their support in his career.
The Minnesota West CTC wrestling program will feature two Blue Jay athletes on the mat this weekend in Council Bluffs. Two Blue Jay wrestlers, Hser Eh Pwae (125) and Wallace Michels (157) will represent Minnesota West Community and Technical College at the NJCAA tournament.
To follow the 2018 NJCAA National Wrestling Championships, including all five MCAC wrestling programs, be sure to go to: http://www.njcaawrestlingcb.com
This release sponsored in part by:
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About the Minnesota College Athletic Conference
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State system. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.