CENTRAL NEBRASKA – On Wednesday afternoon, the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Association announced a total of 15 people from statewide wrestling programs will be inducted into their 2024 Hall of Fame. 

Central Nebraska is well represented with four of the five coaches coming from the area.

Gordon Bye currently is the head coach at Grand Island, where he's coached since 2015. He coached current Nebraska wrestler Blake Cushing to a state championship in 2020. Bye started his wrestling coaching career at Wisner-Pilger High School in 1988. 

Darin Garfield is the current head wrestling coach for Central City. This year, he won the 2023 National Coach of the Year for boys wrestling. Garfield has been a part of the Central City’s wrestling program since 2006. In his tenure as the wrestling coach, he has won four state championships and two state runner-ups. This upcoming wrestling season will be his 18th year in charge.

Dan Lonowski coached the Adams Central boys wrestling team for 27 years where he produced five state champion wrestlers during that time. He then took a year off and created the Adams Central girls wrestling program.

Brian Sybrandts started coaching at Northwest High School in 2005. Earlier this year the Vikings gave coach Sybrandts his 250th career victory after beating Lexington on Jan. 3. Northwest won state in Class B in 2019, and finished runner up in 2018. 

In the competitors category, Frank Kuchera was inducted into the UNK Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2014. Kuchera was a two-time All-American wrestler. He finished fifth at the 2002 NCAA Championships and became UNK's second Division II national champion in 2003 when he captured the 174-pound class.
 
During his four-year career, he posted records of 17-16, 29-14, 30-5 and 37-6. His 37 victories in 2003 were the most in UNK history at the time.

He also was UNK's second wrestler to be inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011.

Craig Trampe of Ord won two state titles with the Chanticleers in 2001 and 2002.

The 15 inductees will be officially inducted in 2024.