City High wrestling coach Smith retiring after long, successful career

Here is a press release from Iowa City High Athletics:

Longtime legendary City High wrestling coach  Brad Smith will retire from teaching and coaching at the end of the 2012 academic year.

Smith was a two-time unbeaten Illinois state champion as well as a two-time All-American and a 1976 NCAA champion for the University of Iowa, where he lettered four seasons and wrestled on two national championship teams.

He has become one of the Iowa's top prep coaches. In 34 seasons as head coach at Iowa City High and Lisbon, his teams have won 463 dual matches, which is third best all-time. His teams have also won a total of 10 traditional state titles, second highest in Iowa history. They also have finished second nine times.

A multiple winner of district coach-of-the year honors, he was coach-of-the-year in 1986 and named national Coach of the Year in 1990 when his Lisbon team won its third straight championship and seventh overall under his guidance.

His teams have added five State Dual Team titles.

In 34 seasons, he has coached 222 state qualifiers with 124 medal winners including 41 state champions.

Coach Smith was inducted in the 2011 IHSAA Wrestling Hall of Fame, 1991 Illinois Wrestling Hall of Fame, 2002 Lisbon's' Athletic Hall of Fame, and 2004 Glen Brand Hall of Fame in Waterloo.

Smith has coached 17 high school wrestlers to All-American status and 5 of his former wrestlers went on to win National Collegiate Championships at the next level.