Hall of Fame
“Anyone wanting an education in the evolution of high school wrestling would be hard-pressed to find a better teacher than Richard “Dick” Saxlund,” said a Minnesota newspaper about the 1965 Mayville State graduate. Throughout his 40 years of coaching, Saxlund has earned accolades as a mentor, an inspiration to aspiring young wrestlers, a producer of champions, a coach “who expected you to do your best at all times,” and as a “die-hard wrestling contributor who devoted a lifetime of service to wrestling.” The Lisbon, N.D. native taught and coached at Leroy-Ostrander (Minn.) H.S. from 1965-67; and Pipestone (Minn.) H.S. from 1967-96. He was an assistant junior high football coach for more than 20 years and taught for 40 years. All in all, Saxlund coached five state champions, five state runners-up, 13 state place-winners, 33 state qualifiers, one NHCSA High School Nationals runner-up, and 10 collegiate All-Americans with three national titles. When he retired, he was in the Top 10 of 100 Minnesota wrestling coaches. He is a member of the Pipestone H.S. Wrestling Hall of Fame; the Pipestone-Jasper Athletic Hall of Fame; the Dave Bartelma Hall of Fame; and the Mayville State University Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the 1961 football team. He was a member of the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association. He learned part of his trade as a football player and wrestler at Mayville State, where he was a four-year letterman and two-year starter in football from 1961-64; and a four-year starter and three-time captain in wrestling, from 1961-65. His wrestling record was 46-16, and he was a state runner-up and a two-time conference runner-up at Mayville State. He graduated with a double major in business education and physical education, and later earned a master’s degree from Winona (Minn.) State.
