One of the great wrestlers at Moorhead State College in the 1960's was Rick Kelvington. This former NCAA-I and NAIA All-American was one of several wrestlers that brought Moorhead State into the National spotlight during that era. However, this Pennsylvania native also became a highly successful coach who chose to stay in Minnesota. This 1961 Pennsylvania State high school Wrestling Champion at 123 lbs wrestled for Trinity high School in Washington, PA. There he accumulated an impressive 61-7-4 career high school record in arguably the toughest wrestling state in the nation, Pennsylvania. From trinity High School, Kelvington traveled west to Minnesota where he became part of some great Moorhead State College teams. This legendary run definitely upgraded the status of wrestling in Minnesota and laid the groundwork for future success among Minnesota colleges. Rick went on to capture All-American honors by placing 5th in the NCAA University Division (D1) Wrestling Championships and 4th in the NAIA National Tournament. Kelvington accumulated an impressive overall 90-13 college record. Rick wrestled for the late great Hall of Fame Coach, known as the "Silver Fox," Bill Garland. Upon graduation from Moorhead State Kelvington landed a teaching and coaching position at Olivia High School (now BOLD High School) in West Central Minnesota. With him he brought this small town a level of wrestling technique and experience unmatched in the area, and raised the bar for all coaches and teams in that part of the state. This also raised the standard of wrestling in the state of Minnesota. Hall of Fame Coach Mike Bredeck says, "Throughout the seventies, eighties and nineties the Little Sioux Conference was a 'hot bed' for wrestling in West Central Minnesota. Rick's teams were always in contention for the title. Not only did he bring a high standard of wrestling to the area and conference, but he also brought a colorful style as well." Kelvington's Olivia teams accumulated a 379-120-10 record in his 33 years of coaching. Seven of his wrestlers won individual State titles. One of those Champions, Paul Lippert, became a NJCAA All-American. Kelvington's teams captured 7 District Championships, 15 Conference titles and 26 tournament team titles. His teams also finished in the "Top 10" at the old "one class" state tournament several times. Overall, Kelvington coached 89 individual conference champions, 86 Minnesota state tournament qualifiers with 26 state place-winners and 7 state champions. It is also interesting to note that Kelvington's teams might have been more highly recognized had it not been for a perennial State Champion Canby High school team during those years, competing in the same Region. Many runnerup finishes for his Olivia teams in the old Region 3 Team tournament, falling just short of the "Big Show." Just think if his Olivia teams had made it? Who knows how many State Championship teams Kelvington might have coached?! Beyond the coaching success though, Rick got involved in the betterment of our sport of wrestling by his voluntary involvement. He served two years as President of the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association. He was also actively involved in the AAU Freestyle program as a coach and official. For Kelvington's efforts he has received notable recognition having been enshrined into the Dave Bartelma-Minnesota Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Moorhead State Athletic Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame and the Trinity High School Athletic Hall of Fame. The Kelvington family includes Rick's wife, Linda, and adult children Elizabeth "Betsy" Dobmeier and sons Brad and Brian. Brad and Brian wrestled for their dad at Olivia High School and daughter Betsy was a wrestling cheerleader. A great source of pride has been the continuation of the wrestling tradition in the family. Son Brian has become one of the best officials in the State of Minnesota and Brad was a highly successful wrestling high school coach at Harrisburg, SD winning two State Team Championships and South Dakota Coach of the Year honors. Watching their grandsons wrestle has added another layer to the tradition and their successful wrestling careers has been a source of great joy. Rick and Linda now reside in Spicer, MN.