MSU-N's
very successful wrestling coach resigns
Havre Daily News Sports Editor
rdivish@havredailynews.com
While the wrestling legacy at Montana State University-Northern will go on well
into the future, a major part of its foundation is saying goodbye.
After 12 extremely successful seasons of guiding the Lights wrestling
program, head coach David Ray submitted his letter of resignation to Northern
Chancellor Alex Capdeville this week. Ray, along with
his wife, Kim Ray, who is the head cross country coach at
Although it may be a surprise to some in Havre, those
close to wrestling have heard rumors of his possible departure as early as
spring, following the Lights' fourth-place finish at the NAIA national
wrestling tournament in
''I've been thinking about this for three years,'' Ray said.
"We kind of knew it was a possibility," said Lights senior Aaron
Jensen. "It's still kind of sad to see him go. He's really built this
program into something great."
During Ray's tenure at Northern, he helped return the Lights to the
forefront of NAIA wrestling with his intense and demanding style. The
discipline he demands isn't for everyone, but those who embrace it know it
leaves a lasting impact on them.
"It can be hard at times," Jensen said. "But you learn a lot
about work ethic, and it doesn't just carry over to the mat, but also in your
life outside of wrestling."
The intensity, the discipline and the enthusiasm within the program have
propelled the Lights to unsurpassed success in NAIA wrestling in the past 10
years.
Ray's teams captured the coveted and prestigious NAIA national team title
four times, most recently in 2004 in
Northern finished second in 2002 and third in 2003 and 1997.
At the regional level, Northern has simply dominated, winning the last eight
straight Northern Regional Tournament titles.
In dual matches, Ray's teams were equally as dominant, racking up an
impressive 137-39-4 record, including a 15-4 record this past season.
Besides team success, Ray's wrestlers have also enjoyed individual success,
winning 21 national titles. Lights wrestlers have dominated throughout each and
every weight class,with 85
athletes earning All-American honors.
"He gets you to go out and compete as hard as you can for the
program," Jensen said. "He really motivates you to wrestle as hard as
possible for the entire match. I've been with him four years and he's made me
so much better as a wrestler."
The Lights' wrestling success has been a source of pride for the campus and
the community And Ray has been a big part of that.
"He's meant a great deal to Northern," Capdeville
said. "He'll be difficult to replace. He's a great motivator and gets the
maximum out of his athletes."
The task of replacing Ray will begin immediately. Capdeville
said the job has been advertised and a search committee, most likely headed by
athletics director
"The main thing is that we find someone that will be successful," Capdeville said. "Having such a strong program should
produce some good candidates that want to coach here."
Always faithful to his team, Ray went out and brought in a solid recruiting
class of more than 15 wrestlers despite having thoughts of leaving.
"It's a credit to David," Capdeville
said. "He wants the program to succeed. He went out and still recruited
very hard even though he was contemplating leaving."
While wrestling is a main focus on the Northern campus and in the area, Ray
has seen programs such as the University of Montana-Western lose funding and
fold up. Ray has faced budget cuts nearly every year and watched as his team
bounced around from practice room to practice room on campus.
"I don't know that we always put adequate resources into the program
and he still got by," Capdeville said. "He
put as much personal effort and time into the program under not always the best
circumstances."
Still, Capdeville wasn't surprised to see Ray step
down.
"It's inevitable when you've been in one place for so long to look for
a change," Capdeville said. "He wanted to
be around his kids. You can only travel and be away like that for so
long."
Ray's family includes son Taylor, 6, and daughters Alexiss,
4, and Michelle, 3.
''I'm tired of raising other people's kids. I want to raise my own ... I
want my weekends back," he said. "And I want to spend more time with
my three little ones.''
Ray didn't just give his time to the wrestling program, but to the school
and athletics department. He was a tireless worker for both.
"He was out in the community working hard," Capdeville
said. "If there was any type of fund-raiser, he was there."
Before coming to Northern, Ray was a graduate assistant coach at the
Northern isn't the only school losing a solid coach. Ray's wife, Kim, will
also be sorely missed in the Havre High athletics department. She helped build
the Blue Pony cross country team into a perennial power in Class A.
"Kim will be very difficult to replace," said HHS athletics
director Dennis Murphy. "Not only does she have the knowledge, but she has
physical ability. She was able to lead by example."
This past season, she helped lead the Ponies to the Class A
state title in
Under her direction, the Ponies have won the last five Central A divisional titles, while placing second at state in 2003
and fourth in 2001 and 2002.
"The kids under her tutelage really bought into what she taught, which
made them very successful," Murphy said. "She had the ability to get
an average or mediocre runner to a higher level. She also got the girls to
understand a team concept of cross country. I don't know that we've had any
really outstanding individual runners, but we've had some outstanding
teams."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.