Local Wrestler Enters National Hall of Fame
By Sharon Barthmaier
On April 6th, 2013 long-time Skyline resident, Mike Mechling, former Benson High wrestling coach, will be inducted in the Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Mike’s accomplishments and compassion are familiar to Skyline families as he has coached many of their children during his 20 years at Benson.
Mike was born in Wichita, Kansas but his family eventually moved to the Seattle area. He attended Pacific University and has taught high school math while coaching soccer and wrestling at Franklin HS, Forest Grove, Vernonia, Wilson (10 yrs) and Benson (20 yrs).
Mike didn’t begin wrestling until his junior year of high school. At Glacier HS in Burien, WA, he wrestled in the 103 and 127 lb class. Mike was part of the “Fantastic Four”, the top four wrestlers on the team. For those that don’t remember, the “Fantastic Four” was a superhero team of the 1960’s Marvel Comics. Mike’s and Marvel’s team were, “Flamer” (because of his temper), The Thing (short and stumpy build), Mr. Fantastic (very flexible) and the Invisible Girl (no girl on Mike’s team, but the only name left!) Mike was Mr. Flexible, aptly named because he could “turn himself inside out.”
Lila, his wife, relates a great story that Mike’s mother attended all of his matches but she never saw him wrestle. She covered her eyes whenever he was on the mat!
In college Mike wrestled in the 126 and 134 lb. weight classes. His freshman and sophomore years were at Highline CC. As a junior at Pacific University, he was called “the Weasel,” again because of his amazing flexibility. In his 13 years as a competitive wrestler, he held the record for never being “pinned,” which means his opponent could never get Mike’s shoulders to the mat.
Mike has numerous trophies to remind him of his career throughout the NW Conference, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and even the Olympic Trials of 1980. He won 5 tournaments on the way to the finals, being selected the most outstanding wrestler in 3. However, this was the year that President Carter declined to participate in the Olympics due to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Mike “hung up his shoes” and never wrestled competitively again. He felt that politics should not be mixed with sports.
Mike met Lila, his future wife, appropriately, at a wrestling event at Highline Community College. Although they had attended the same Catholic elementary school, they had never met. While she was sitting in the stands at a match, the usually shy wrestler walked up to her and said, “Hi, I’m Mike.” They didn’t begin dating until a year or two later. Now they are the parents of four, a daughter and three sons, and grandparents of 4. All the boys wrestled for Benson and their daughter was the statistician.
Despite Mike’s many achievements in sports, he is most proud of the life experiences he was able to provide his athletes. Wrestlers and their parents will say that he taught his students hard work, respect, integrity and self-respect. In the span of 10 years, he took teams of thirty to fifty wrestlers on five major trips, four to Hawaii and one to Florida. For many this was their first trip outside of Portland. These trips, in which they had to raise over $20,000 each time, were financed by fund raisers such as working in concessions at the Benson High and Blazer Basketball games, selling candy, collecting cans, etc. Lila claims that she ended up supporting the teams by buying a lot of the candy that Mike brought home before it was taken to school.
Mike retired from the Portland Public Schools in 2007, although, as you can well imagine, he hasn’t been sitting around with his feet propped up. He still plays soccer, (which he also played in junior college) and is the captain of his over- fifty team.
He and Lila love to travel when they are not babysitting their 4 grandchildren, all who are under the age of 4! As many grandparents know, that is hard work but keeps you active! Mike also manages to maintain his three gardens, many fruit trees and 40 blueberry bushes.
Thirteen has been the lucky number for Mike. He was born on April 13 at 5:13 am, weighed 7 lbs 13 oz, wrestled for 13 years and in 2013 he will be inducted into the Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. A well-deserved tribute to a coach who taught the skills of competition as well as expanding the lives of his athletes.
Skyline Ridge Runner, April, 2013
On April 6th, 2013 long-time Skyline resident, Mike Mechling, former Benson High wrestling coach, will be inducted in the Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Mike’s accomplishments and compassion are familiar to Skyline families as he has coached many of their children during his 20 years at Benson.
Mike was born in Wichita, Kansas but his family eventually moved to the Seattle area. He attended Pacific University and has taught high school math while coaching soccer and wrestling at Franklin HS, Forest Grove, Vernonia, Wilson (10 yrs) and Benson (20 yrs).
Mike didn’t begin wrestling until his junior year of high school. At Glacier HS in Burien, WA, he wrestled in the 103 and 127 lb class. Mike was part of the “Fantastic Four”, the top four wrestlers on the team. For those that don’t remember, the “Fantastic Four” was a superhero team of the 1960’s Marvel Comics. Mike’s and Marvel’s team were, “Flamer” (because of his temper), The Thing (short and stumpy build), Mr. Fantastic (very flexible) and the Invisible Girl (no girl on Mike’s team, but the only name left!) Mike was Mr. Flexible, aptly named because he could “turn himself inside out.”
Lila, his wife, relates a great story that Mike’s mother attended all of his matches but she never saw him wrestle. She covered her eyes whenever he was on the mat!
In college Mike wrestled in the 126 and 134 lb. weight classes. His freshman and sophomore years were at Highline CC. As a junior at Pacific University, he was called “the Weasel,” again because of his amazing flexibility. In his 13 years as a competitive wrestler, he held the record for never being “pinned,” which means his opponent could never get Mike’s shoulders to the mat.
Mike has numerous trophies to remind him of his career throughout the NW Conference, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and even the Olympic Trials of 1980. He won 5 tournaments on the way to the finals, being selected the most outstanding wrestler in 3. However, this was the year that President Carter declined to participate in the Olympics due to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Mike “hung up his shoes” and never wrestled competitively again. He felt that politics should not be mixed with sports.
Mike met Lila, his future wife, appropriately, at a wrestling event at Highline Community College. Although they had attended the same Catholic elementary school, they had never met. While she was sitting in the stands at a match, the usually shy wrestler walked up to her and said, “Hi, I’m Mike.” They didn’t begin dating until a year or two later. Now they are the parents of four, a daughter and three sons, and grandparents of 4. All the boys wrestled for Benson and their daughter was the statistician.
Despite Mike’s many achievements in sports, he is most proud of the life experiences he was able to provide his athletes. Wrestlers and their parents will say that he taught his students hard work, respect, integrity and self-respect. In the span of 10 years, he took teams of thirty to fifty wrestlers on five major trips, four to Hawaii and one to Florida. For many this was their first trip outside of Portland. These trips, in which they had to raise over $20,000 each time, were financed by fund raisers such as working in concessions at the Benson High and Blazer Basketball games, selling candy, collecting cans, etc. Lila claims that she ended up supporting the teams by buying a lot of the candy that Mike brought home before it was taken to school.
Mike retired from the Portland Public Schools in 2007, although, as you can well imagine, he hasn’t been sitting around with his feet propped up. He still plays soccer, (which he also played in junior college) and is the captain of his over- fifty team.
He and Lila love to travel when they are not babysitting their 4 grandchildren, all who are under the age of 4! As many grandparents know, that is hard work but keeps you active! Mike also manages to maintain his three gardens, many fruit trees and 40 blueberry bushes.
Thirteen has been the lucky number for Mike. He was born on April 13 at 5:13 am, weighed 7 lbs 13 oz, wrestled for 13 years and in 2013 he will be inducted into the Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. A well-deserved tribute to a coach who taught the skills of competition as well as expanding the lives of his athletes.
Skyline Ridge Runner, April, 2013
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