Born and raised on a dairy farm in the town of Newton, Wisconsin, Paul Brandl attended St. Isidore grade school, and graduated from Valders High School. Paul loved farming and planned to join his dad and family on the farm after graduation. Actually, Paul planned to drop out of school as soon as the law allowed, but wrestling intervened and changed that plan. Ken Schermacher started a wrestling program at Valders , the 19th high school program in Wisconsin, during the 1951-52 school year, and a neighbor, Eddie Free, invited Paul to give the sport a try. Wrestling provided just the motivation needed to keep Paul in school long enough to graduate. Competing at the state level, Paul finished fourth in his junior year and second as a senior. But he still planned to be a farmer, and had no intention of going on for further education. Coach Schermacher was the one to deliver the news that George Martin was offering Paul a scholarship to wrestle for the Badgers, an offer that changed the course of his life forever. While never a star, Paul made the team, worked hard and earned a treasured "W" in his senior year. During his college years, Paul was also a member of the UW dairy cattle judging team, and spent all four years in ROTC, earning a 2nd LT commission upon graduation. After serving six months on active duty, Paul returned to Madison to continue work on a M.S. degree in science education, while also serving as an assistant coach to George Martin during the 1959-60 season. Paul started his career as a science teacher and head wrestling coach at Greenfield High School in 1960, coaching the Greenfield Hawks to a conference championship in 1968. Later that same year, he became assistant principal at the high school and hired Ron Youngbauer to take over as head wrestling coach. In 1965 Paul was married to Charlene Cape and they went on to have four children: Bobbi, Becky, Jill and Doug. The family moved to Algoma in 1970, when Paul became high school principal. Another move just three years later brought Paul and his family to Plymouth, where he started out as assistant principal, agriculture teacher and head wrestling coach, with Bob Rank as his assistant. In 1974 Paul started the Plymouth junior wrestling club and soon added a middle school program as well. Saturday bus trips to attend kids' tournaments became a regular event, with both Doug and Jill accompanying him on many of these weekends. As a wrestler at Plymouth High, Doug finished sixth and second at the state tournament, and then wrestled for five years for the UW Badgers. Jill became a wrestling official and officiated the boys' high school tournament for two years. While at Plymouth, Paul began videotaping and televising high school wrestling events over the Plymouth cable network. Once he moved to Madison, he also worked to broadcast and videotape Badger home dual meets on select local cable channels. In addition to raising their own four children, Paul and Char became a Sheboygan County foster home and helped to raise 11 other children over a period of 20 years while living in Plymouth. After leaving coaching and becoming a school administrator, Paul worked hard to hire teachers who would coach, believing that extra-curricular activities were the best drop-out prevention programs high schools had to offer. After retirement, Paul moved to Madison to become a super Badger fan, insisting on living downtown, within walking distance of the Kohl Center and Field House, so he could walk to Badger events. He attends all wrestling home meets, along with some practice sessions and many Big Ten and NCAA events, in addition to the state high school tournament. Paul proudly shares that he's been at the state wrestling tournament in Madison since his first trip there in 1953. He has attended as a participant, a table worker, a coach, a referee, a dad, the parent of a referee, and a spectator. 1954 - Graduated, Valders (WI) High School; placed 4th and 2nd in WI High School wrestling tournament; member of State 4H and FFA dairy cattle judging teams; Award: High Individual Judge 1954-58 - UW Badger wrestling; awarded letter 1958; UW dairy cattle judging team 1955 1954 - B.S. degree in agriculture education, UW-Madison 1959-60 - Assistant wrestling coach, UW-Madison 1960-70 - Greenfield (WI) High School science teacher and head wrestling coach; wrestling official 1966 - Specialist Degree in Educational Administration, UW-Madison 1966 - Greenfield High School Teacher of the Year 1970-73 - Algoma (WI) High School principal 1973-96 - Plymouth (WI) High School teacher, head wrestling coach. Then assistant principal, principal. assistant superintendent, and superintendent of schools 1996-2004 - Horse/carriage driver at Old Wade House in Greenbush WI 2006-present - Member of Madison Sports Hall of Fame noon luncheon activity Current coordinator for "Weigh-Out Club," a monthly gathering of retired wrestling coaches in the Madison area. When Jill attended high school, Plymouth High was ahead of the technology times and was recording wrestling matches and playing them on the local cable station. Jill joined Mike Briggs as his color commentator for each of the broadcasts. Jill's officiating career started at youth wrestling tournaments while she was in high school. Despite never having wrestled, she developed an in-depth knowledge of wrestling rules and enjoyed participating in the action officially. When she headed to college at Marquette University, her father encouraged her to become certified as a WIAA official. She started her officiating career working JV matches in the Sheboygan county area and at Milwaukee Washington and other MPS high schools. As a small-town girl, she was overcoming fears both in confidently stepping on the mat having never wrestled and in learning to navigate the city busses and travel to unfamiliar neighborhoods in the city. For 20 years, Jill officiated and rose in rankings, ultimately becoming the first woman to officiate the WIAA state tournament. She twice officiated the state tournament as well as officiated matches at the NCAA level. A lifelong educator, Jill was hired as a high school level administrator in the Middleton Cross Plains Area School district in 1995. In the early 2000s, Jill joined with Luke Francois to start a women's wrestling program, and for the first time, stepped on the mat as a coach and a wrestler. She enjoyed this opportunity to experience the physical intensity of the sport and to allow young women the opportunity to participate. The combination of the arrival of her children, Jacey and Zoe, a highly demanding job as a school administrator, and working to earn advanced degrees in educational leadership caused her to step away from officiating in 2009. She remains an avid wrestling fan. She and her Dad have traveled to watch the Badgers in the Big Ten and NCAA tournament for over 20 years and now are joined by Jacey. Jill, her husband Tim, and their children live just outside of Middleton, WI. Jill continues to serve as a high school administrator in the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District, where she is passionate about redesigning education to engage all learners deeply. Jill Brandl Gurtner Accomplishments 1983-1987 Wrestling Color Commentator for Local Cable TV station 1988-2008 WIAA official 2000-2005 NCAA official 2003, 2005 First Female to Officiate WIAA State Tournament 1999-2006 Women's wrestling coach Middleton High School 1995-Present High School Administrator in Middleton Cross Plains Area School District 2012 Opened Clark Street Community School (CSCS) and currently serves as Principal at CSCS 2019 Clark Street Community School is the first high school in the State of Wisconsin to receive recognition as a Gold Level School of Opportunity by the National Education Policy Center Jill Brandl Gurtner Accomplishments 1983-1987 Wrestling Color Commentator for Local Cable TV station 1988-2008 WIAA official 2000-2005 NCAA official 2003, 2005 First Female to Officiate WIAA State Tournament 1999-2006 Women's wrestling coach Middleton High School 1995-Present High School Administrator in Middleton Cross Plains Area School District 2012 Opened Clark Street Community School (CSCS) and currently serves as Principal at CSCS 2019 Clark Street Community School is the first high school in the State of Wisconsin to receive recognition as a Gold Level School of Opportunity by the National Education Policy Center