One of Minnesotaʼs great wrestling coaches in the late 1970ʼs and early 1980ʼs was Elysian, Minnesota native Buzz Cummins. Cummins led his hometown Waterville-Elysian High School teams to consecutive 2nd, 3rd and 2nd place finishes in the 1981, 1982, and 1983 Minnesota State Wrestling Tournaments. He was also highly active in helping the direction of wrestling in Minnesota, serving on several committees and as President of the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association. Buzz was a four-sport athlete at Waterville High School, earning numerous letters in football, wrestling, baseball & track. He was MVP and captain of three sports. He won conference and district wrestling championships four times each and he participated in the 1961 State Wrestling Tournament. He was coached by the eldest of the famous Owatonna Bengtson brothers, Tom. Following high school, Cummins did not feel ready for college, so he decided to enroll in barber school in St. Paul. In 1964 he took a position at a barber shop in Owatonna, Minnesota. There he was approached by an administrator from Owatonna High School to start a wrestling program for young boys. That threeyear experience gave him the incentive to enroll at Mankato State College in the fall of 1967 at age 22. After five years away from competition, he decided to give wrestling another try. He was a late season fill-in at 145 lbs. for legendary coach Rummy Macias and placed in the NIC tournament. Buzz had joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1965 and served honorably until his discharge in 1971. Cummins earned a B.S. degree in 1972 with a major in Business Education and a minor in Physical Education. His first teaching position was in Austin, Minnesota, where he served as an assistant coach under another Hall of Fame coach, Chuck Prunty. After two years he accepted the head coaching position at Hopkins Eisenhower, taking over for another legend, Paul Bengtson. He says he learned a great deal from both Chuck and Paul. He was also assistant baseball coach at Hopkins. In 1977, while still at Hopkins, Buzz was selected for his first of two cultural exchange trips to Finland and Germany, in 1977 and 1978. He then served as head of the Minnesota Cultural Exchange from 1979-1982. In the spring of 1977, his alma mater called Buzz to coach at Waterville-Elysian High School. During the next 11 years Buzz led his "Buccaneers" to four Minnesota State Tournaments, placing 2nd, 3rd, & 2nd in 1981, 82, & 83. The Bucs won four Region Titles and had four Region runner-up fi nishes, along with eight District/ Sub-Region Titles and seven regular season/tournament conference titles. Buzz served as President of the State Wrestling Coaches Association for two years, 1980 & 1981. He was also the first wrestling coach to win back-to-back State Coach of the Year honors in 1981 and 1982. He has also served as a Region Rep and was a member of the State Tournament Committee for a number of years. In the summer of 1981, with Hall of Famer Spencer Yohe he toured with teams to Baton Rouge, LA, and Washington D.C. Buzz has written columns for the Guillotine, helped for many years as a member of the State Tournament weigh-in crew, and served for 17 years as a high school wrestling official. In 1989 Buzz was named Minnesota Wrestling "Man of the Year" by Wrestling USA Magazine. He was inducted into the Dave Bartelma Minnesota Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1991. He has also served on that selection committee from 1993 to the present. In 1990 Buzz accepted the position of Athletic Director at Waterville-Elysian High School and was a member of several MSHSL committees. He kept his eye on the best interests for wrestling. Current volunteer activities for Buzz include haircuts at the Minneapolis Veterans Hospital once a month for the past ten years, and a trip to a handicapped Christian kids camp near Milwaukee once a year for the past eleven years to give horseback rides to 80-90 handicapped kids and their siblings. Relaxing activities for Buzz includes horseback riding, buggy driving, attending sports activities, bike riding and watching his daughters in their coaching activities. His family includes two daughters, Melissa and Ashley, and a special fiancee Eileen. Two brothers, Don and Fritz, and three sisters, Pat, Doris and Jeanne are also a special part of his life. Both Buzzʼs daughters were great three-sport athletes in high school, competing in volleyball, gymnastics and softball. Melissa competed in gymnastics at UW-Oshkosh, winning the NCAA III National Vault Championship in 2001. She just finished her 8th year of coaching the Northfi eld High School Gymnastics team. Her teams have competed in seven state tournaments, placing 6th, 3rd, 2nd three times, and have won two state titles. She was selected the 2013 Minnesota (Class AA) Gymnastics Coach of the Year. She currently holds the unoffi cial title of "Best Coach in the Family," but the future could prove interesting! Her husband, Paul Bernhard, shares coaching duties with Melissa. Ashley is a 3rd year teacher in the Faribault School System, currently teaching 1st grade. She just finished her third year as head coach of the Faribault High School Gymnastics team and had her first state entrant at last yearʼs meet. On May 24 she will marry her best friend, Garrett Kinnery. Both girlsʼ teams are in the same section, and beginning next year, will be in the same conference. Buzz has to be careful which shirt he wears when attending their meets. One of Minnesotaʼs finest, Buzz Cummins!