Brad Huckle – Appleton

Brad Huckle, son of Richard and Bev Huckle, grew up in Appleton, Minnesota, along with older brother Rick and younger sister Lyn. Richard was a career Marine Corps Pilot, and after retiring, he bought the Chevrolet Dealership from his father in Appleton.

Brad decided to go out for wrestling in 7th grade at the urging of cousins Randy, Larry, and Rick Vogt, who happened to be Brad’s first cousins and outstanding wrestlers for Rick Kelvington at Olivia. Brad weighed about 85 pounds, and it wasn’t until his Freshman year that he was able to wrestle at 98#. He made the varsity team with his brother at 126# and learned a lot, but he was not a very big 98-pounder until the following year.

Huckle wrestled at 105# for most of the season as a Sophomore, cutting down to 98# for the District Tournament. After winning the District Title, he advanced to the Region 3 Tournament and won in the semifinals over Lynn Plumley from BOLD in overtime on a referee’s decision. He then went on to win (again in overtime) in the Region Finals. Brad won his first match at State—also in overtime (referee’s decision)—before getting knocked off in the Quarterfinals by the eventual State Champion.

As a Junior, Huckle won close matches in the Finals of the District and Region Tournaments, then ran into a buzz-saw at State by the name of Rick Kriewall from Blue Earth. Kriewall defeated Huckle in a wild 8-7 match, but Brad won four straight matches, including another overtime, in the wrestle-backs to take 3rd place.

The following year, Huckle dominated the competition at Districts and Regions. After another overtime win in the State Semifinals, he met Kriewall again in the State Finals and came out on top by a score of 11-8 to win the 1977 State Title at 105#.

Huckle and Kriewall were to meet one last time, years later, in the Bison Open, and Brad won the battle in another wide-open, high-scoring affair that Brad says may have been the all-time favorite match of his wrestling career.

After graduating from Appleton, Huckle enrolled at the University of Minnesota, where he majored in Liberal Arts with a focus on Business and Economics and wrestled for the Golden Gophers. Brad redshirted his first season as the 118# weight class was full of great wrestlers. The following year Brad, wrestled behind Vic Martinez from Osseo, who won the State AA title the same year Brad won the Class A Title at 105#. The following summer, Brad and Jim Martinez traveled to the Olympic Training Camp in Colorado Springs (uninvited) and spent three months wrestling as training partners for Olympic hopefuls. The experience gained was monumental.

Huckle came back the next year at 118# and beat that year’s NCAA Runner-up in the second match of the season. He went on to win the Bison Open, made it to the semifinals of the Midlands, and was ranked as high as #3 in the country that season.

As a Junior, Huckle started out at 126# with Gary Lefebvre at 134#, with both wrestlers going down a weight before Nationals. Brad was wrestling well but suffered a season-ending injury in his match against All-American Joe McFarland.

In his Senior season, Brad started at 126# again, with Freshman Ed Giese wrestling at 118#. However, when it came to the end of the season, Brad was unable to cut to 118#, and All­ Americans Gary Lefebvre, Dalen Wasmund, and Jim Martinez all cut down a weight and bumped Brad out of the Big Ten Lineup. Brad considered it a privilege and an honor to have been able to contribute to the success of the U of M Wrestling Program.

Furthermore, it was a close-knit team consisting primarily of Minnesotans, who remain lifelong friends to this day.

After college, Brad was hired by US Bank in Owatonna as an AG / Business Banker.

Three years later, Brad moved to the Twin Cities to join a community bank group in the suburbs, where he met his current banking partner, Mike Bilski. After a few years together, Brad and Mike founded the North American Banking Company in 1998. 25 years later, the Twin Cities-based Community Bank has six locations and is a 1.2 Billion Dollar Business. Brad explains, “This is a people business, and finding common ground in order to make a connection is the key to our success.” Brad finds great satisfaction in helping clients obtain financial solutions that allow them to overcome challenges or capitalize on opportunities and particularly enjoys working with former wrestlers.

Brad continued wrestling for a couple of years after college with the Norwood-Young America Old-timer’s Team and wrestled his last match in 2005 at the Elk River Old-timers Invitational.

Huckle’s love of competition led him to the world of Marathons and Triathlons. In addition to 40 shorter races, Brad completed 12 marathons and qualified for and competed in the 2005 Boston Marathon. Huckle also completed two dozen Triathlons of varying distances along with four Half lronman races and one Full lronman Competition in Wisconsin in 2006. He was a State Runner-up as well as a Season State Champion in the Minnesota Triathlon Series. Brad met his wife through a running club they belonged to and Brad Huckle and Melissa McCarthy were married in May of 2023.

Brad loves the comradery of wrestling forged by arduous training and one-on-one battles in the center of the mat. One of Brad’s most memorable moments in his wrestling career came in his very first State Tournament match. Brad was warming up, trying to get mentally prepared for his first match, when the legendary coach Ken Droegemueller (then at Worthington) took a moment to kneel down beside him as he rolled around by himself on the mat. He must have thought Brad looked a little scared because he reassured Brad that he belonged there and encouraged him to just relax and enjoy the experience. Huckle says, “Coach Droegemueller’s kindness and generosity lifted my spirits and made a lasting impression on me.”

Brad continues, “I have tremendous respect and appreciation for all of the coaches, officials, and wrestling supporters who provide young boys and girls with the opportunity, guidance, and support to become the best version of themselves in this great sport we call wrestling.”