Terry Cochran
Whitman County Wrestling Officials Association: 1987 to present.
Inland Empire Wrestling Officials Association: 1994 to present.
Idaho District 2 Wrestling Officials Association: 2008 to present.
Terry Cochran wrestled in high school for two years. While living in Eastern Washington he was encouraged by Hall of Famer Joe Babbitt (WNWHOF-2004) to start his career as a Wrestling Official. In 1987 Cochran began officiating for the Whitman County Wrestling Officials Association and quickly became very successful. In 2011 he was awarded the Washington State Outstanding Wrestling Official recognition.
The Whitman County Wrestling Officials Association only services a few schools so Terry also officiates for the Inland Empire Wrestling Officials Association and the Idaho District 2 Wrestling Officials Associations. He has served in a leadership position starting in 1997, as the Whitman County Wrestling Association Assigning Secretary, a position he still holds.
Cochran has officiated in 30 Washington State Wrestling Tournaments and 6 Idaho State Wrestling Tournaments. Over his 35-year Officiating career he has officiated numerous league, district, and regional tournaments where he was the head official for many of those tournaments. He also officiates USA Wrestling tournaments and officiated some college club wrestling from 2008-2013.
Terry is very proud of his time spent officiating. His philosophy is that the people are there to watch the kids, not the referee. He believes in working with the wrestlers on the mat to keep them safe by talking to them as they wrestle. He often sees wrestlers off the mat who give him a handshake and tell him they enjoyed having him for a referee. These rewards come without any fanfare but make his job as a wrestling official priceless.
Outside of officiating wrestling, Terry is an Event Volunteer for the Colfax Chamber of Commerce; Fire Commissioner for District 11 of Whitman County; member of the Steptoe Fire Department since 2015; and for the past 20 plus years volunteered in the beef barn and the Steptoe Food Booth at the Palouse Empire Fair.
As a Service Technician for Jones Truck and Implement, Cochran currently resides near Colfax, Washington with his wife Nancy. They have two adult children Maggee and Ben, and have 5 grandchildren: Waylon, Zaidee, Murphee, Case and Louden.
Awards:
Year
2024
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Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
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Chapter/Region
Washington
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