At the beginning of the 1977-1978 school year, OCUSD seriously considered eliminating the high school wrestling program due to budgetary restraints. Head Coach Bob Ryder and Assistant Coach Jim Bottoms met with parents to discuss ways to save the program. They convinced the school board to continue the young wrestling program.

During the 1977-1978 season, the Oregon wrestling team placed more wrestlers in the district tournament than during any previous season. Matt Papini placed second, while Scott Arbogast, Jeff Daniels, and Joel Newcomer placed third (Source: 1978 OHS yearbook, p. 37).

Richard Schmidt replaced Ryder as head coach during the 1978-1979 wrestling season. This young team relied on many underclassmen to wrestle at the varsity level. Mike Gale placed third at district, while Keith Greener placed fourth (Source: 1979 OHS yearbook, p.96).

During the 1979-1980 season, five wrestlers placed in the district tournament (Source: 1980 OHS yearbook, p. 109).

During the 1980-1981 season, the team sent three wrestlers, Todd Benesh, Mark Gale (a future OHS wrestling coach), and Kevin Groenhagen, to the sectional tournament. Benesh took second at the sectional tournament (Source: 1981 yearbook, p. 46). He may have been the first OHS wrestler to compete in the state tournament.

OHS sent another senior wrestler, Andy Davison, to the state tournament during the 1981-1982 season). Remarkably, Davison's first year as a wrestler was his senior year. Another seven wrestlers advanced to the sectional tournament (Source: 1982 OHS yearbook, pp. 38 and 39).

During the 1982-1983 season, OHS placed first at the Newman Invitational and the Byron-Polo Tournament. They went on to win first place in conference and regional competitions. The team sent eight wrestlers to the sectional tournament. Joe Stevens qualified for the state tournament (Source: 1983 OHS yearbook, pp. 56 and 57).

During the 1983-1984 season, OHS sent six wrestlers to the sectional tournament. Two of those wrestlers, Steve Baker and Doug Powers, went on to represent the Hawks at the state tournament (Source: 1984 OHS yearbook, p. 60).

The 1983-1984 season appears to have been Bottoms’ final year as assistant coach, while Schmidt remained head coach for several more seasons.

The signers of this petition believe Ryder, Schmidt, and Bottoms deserve serious consideration as future inductees into the OCUSD 220 Athletic Hall of Fame. These coaches’ early efforts went largely unnoticed by the Oregon community. However, all three men worked for years to help develop the Oregon wrestling program, which was nearly eliminated in 1977, into the powerhouse that would ultimately win the 1998 state championship.