Bill Benson, son of Clarence and Marelleen Benson, was born in Worthington and moved to Luverne with his family when he was a youngster. All six of his siblings were athletes. Bill followed in his older brothers’ footsteps, playing football in the fall, baseball in spring and summer, and grappling in the winter. Bill had an outstanding senior wrestling season under coach Dave Cain at Luverne, but fell short of his ultimate goal, taking fourth at State at 145#. A wrestling highlight for Benson came when he was invited to wrestle on the U.S. National Team coached by Jim Short, Dick Pullen, and a couple more outstanding coaches. He also took pride in surviving Bucky Maughan’s 14 Day Intensive Camp in the summer of both his junior and senior years.

Bill was one of just a few guys who did not miss a single practice or conditioning workout either camp. Being in condition paid off more than once for Benson – he remembers being down by 14 points in the State Tournament, only to come back and go up by 14 points before securing the Fall.

After graduating from Luverne, Bill enrolled at Worthington Junior College and continued his wrestling career under coach Jerry Jansen, earning All-American honors and finishing #3 on the all-time win list at Worthington. Benson went on to attend Mankato State and wrestle for Rummy Macias and the Mavericks. Competition was tough, but the experience was great. Bill enjoyed throwing legs and turning guys with his power half. He also used a leg counter that involved hitting sort of a granby with a twist and a kip that he scored big points with. His teammates called the move the “Benny-Roll.”

After accumulating three majors in three years at Mankato – Finance, Real Estate & Insurance, and Education – Benson was hired by Great American to work on commercial claims.

Bill then went back to school to get his MBA from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management. Benson currently works for Hallmark Financial out of Dallas, handling complex claims.

Bill’s officiating career began in a somewhat unconventional way. Just after graduating from Mankato State, Bill went to watch his younger brother, Roger, wrestle in a dual meet between Anoka-Ramsey and Itasca Community College. The assigned official had to cancel at the last minute. Gary Wellner, the Anoka-Ramsey coach, along with Mike Rybak, the Itasca coach, went up into the stands to ask Bill if he would be willing to officiate the dual meet. Bill thought it over for a couple of seconds and said, “Sure”. Wellner liked what he saw and, right after the meet ended, asked Benson if he would be willing to officiate their team tournament that weekend. Bill said, “Sure”. At the conclusion of the team tournament, Bill was asked if he would be interested in reffing the NJCAA Regional Qualifier. With all that experience under his belt, Bill said, “Sure”.

This atypical start led to an officiating career that has spanned over 38 years, officiating both high school and collegiate matches. Benson has been selected over 20 times to officiate Minnesota State Finals matches in addition to Big 10, Big 12, NSIC, and MIAC Conference Championships, as well as NCAA Division I, II, & III and NJCAA National Qualifiers and Tournaments. Bill currently serves as the Collegiate Assignment Secretary for the Minnesota Wrestling Officials Association and serves on the Board of Directors for the Gold Country Officials Association. Benson has been awarded the Distinguished Officials Award from the MSHSL and also from the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA.

Bill is indebted to a multitude of people who have helped him along the way, from his family to his high school and college coaches, and the many officials who helped him get started as well as those officials who provided comradeship and supported him throughout the years. It has been a great ride. It all started when Wellner and Rybak asked Bill to referee their dual meet and Bill said “Sure”.