Lifetime Service Joe Vavrus graduated from Bloom Township High School and continued his education by enrolling at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. At Northwestern Joe Vavrus was a member of the Wildcat wrestling program. Upon his graduation from Northwestern in 1946, Joe constructed from scratch "” in Moline, Illinois "” what was to become one of the finest wrestling programs in the state. An ardent promoter and leader in the wrestling community "” especially in the Quad-City area "” Joe Vavrus compiled a remarkable record. In an era when schools seldom wrestled more than 12 - 15 duals meets in a season, Joe put together a career mark of 231-134-11. Moline High School under the guidance of Joe Vavrus won seven Conference Championships, eight Illinois High School Association District (now Regional) titles, and eleven IHSA Sectional titles. In State Finals competition Joe's teams won one State Championship in 1969, finished second in 1950 and finished in the top ten a total of eight times. On an individual basis Vavrus' Moline Maroons sent one hundred individuals to the IHSA State Finals. Again, in an era in which the IHSA recognized only the top four placewinners, twenty-eight of Joe's qualifiers earned medals "” of those twenty-eight, eight were State Champions. The high esteem in which both his peers and his successors held Joe Vavrus was demonstrated in the early 1970s. The Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association "” then in its infancy "” inducted Joe Vavrus into its Hall of Fame in only its second year of existence. It was an honor befitting an individual who was an untiring pioneer in the sport. When the IWCOA and the IHSA collaborated to weave a Grand March ceremony into the State Finals program in 1975 the IWCOA appropriately selected Joe Vavrus for the inaugural event.