For Dave Keeler, being on the mat has always been about the rush. After starting out in the Veterans of Foreign Wars wrestling league as a youngster, Keeler decided that wrestling was something that could become part of his life. And, it was something he wanted to be good at. By the time he got to Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, it was something he had to be good at.

“Boy, it was a rush,” Keeler said. “(Wrestling) in high school, you might have a tough guy every once in a while. But in college, you had to be at your best every night, because every guy was tough. I really liked that…it was gratifying to compete at that level.”

Before wrestling at NJC, Keeler was part of the early days of the Wray High School wrestling championship factory.

He won a pair of individual state titles and had a runner-up finish in between as a prepster, finishing with a total tally of 60 wins and four losses. He was also a part of the early day of three team championships for Wray between 1969-71 – paving the way for the school’s now state record 16 total titles.

Now, the rush for Keeler comes as a member of the Wray coaching staff. He’s helped to guide his grandsons- Tyler, Brady, and Austin Collins- to individual state championships, and has been part of furthering the Wray legacy as one of the forces in the corner behind the school’s five Class 2A team titles since 2018.

Coaching wasn’t always the plan. But it sure seemed like Keeler’s calling.

“After college I came back (to Wray) in 1983, and I had gone in there (to the wrestling room) a few times to check it out,” Keeler said. “There was one individual who was a very good wrestler, who took second at state the year before. He came up to me and said, ‘I don’t like that. Will you help me?’

“I felt like I could coach at a higher level and was comfortable coaching kids up to that level. I was able to communicate with the kids and get their respect, and that’s how I got into it.”

While the trophies and individual medals have been nice, it’s always been the personal connection to the wrestlers that has kept the rush coming throughout the years for Coach Keeler.

When speaking about the honor of the Lifetime Service to Wrestling, Keeler recalled the student athletes who he thought he had failed to reach – only to have them come back years later and thank him for helping to light a fire of their own.

“Winning state championships is very gratifying and rewarding. When you’re in the moment, it’s great,” Keeler said. “But to have a kid come back 10, 15, 20 years later and say you changed their lives?

Everybody has something that keeps their spark plug lit. That’s what it is for me.”

(Presenter- Bob Smith)