Willie Gadson, who passed away in 2013 after a year-long battle with cancer, coached Waterloo East High School from 2004-12.

His life was a microcosm of a dedicated wrestler and wrestling coach, whose career spanned high school and college.

He coached 16 state qualifiers and 10 state place-winners, including his son Kyven, who did not lose a match while winning state championships in 2009 and 2010. Kyven honored his father's memory by pinning his way to the 2015 NCAA championship at 197 pounds.

The elder Gadson was a two-time Big Eight Conference champion and All-American for Iowa State in 1975 and 1976. He also served as an assistant coach for the Cyclones from 1979-1982. He was also a two-time junior college champion for Nassau Community College in New York, winning the 190-pound title in 1973 and 1974. He received the Ernest B. Gould Award, presented to the Most Outstanding Wrestler, in 1974.

His love of the sport and those connected with it made him a popular coach and led to a successful coaching career.

He directed Eastern Michigan to its only conference wrestling championship in 1996, when he was also named the MAC Coach of the Year.

Gadson was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1984.