National champion wrestlers and legendary coaches
1970
Born and raised in Bismarck, the Steiner brothers were among the first members of MATPAC Wrestling when coach Milo Trusty founded the now-nationally ranked club in 1978. As wrestlers for Bismarck Century High School, Troy won three individual state titles at 112, 119 and 125 pounds from 1986-1988, and Terry won back-to-back titles in 1987-1988 at 126 and 130 pounds.
The brothers found continued success on the college wrestling circuit at the University of Iowa. Troy won All-American honors all four years, Terry became a three-time All-American, and each won an individual NCAA championship – Troy at 142 pounds in 1992 and Terry at 150 pounds in 1993. Troy was a three-time Big Ten Conference champion.
Troy went on to represent the United States as a nine-time member of the U.S. National Team, winning titles at the 1992 World Cup and the 1996 Pan-American Games. He placed third at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1992 and 1996. Terry also became a member of the U.S. National Team, competing at the highest levels of freestyle wrestling that included being a 1996 Pan American champion, who placed at the U.S. Open a number of times.
However, perhaps their greatest mark on the sport has been made through coaching.
Terry has led the U.S. Women’s National Wrestling Team as head coach since 2002. Under his guidance, USA Wrestling’s women’s program has been built into an elite power in international wrestling and helped create opportunity that has led women’s wrestling to become the fastest-growing female sport in the nation. Terry has led the U.S. women’s freestyle team for six Olympic Games – every Olympics that has included women’s wrestling dating back to Athens in 2004. He has coached 12 Olympic medalists – four gold medalists, three silver medalists and five bronze medalists – including the first U.S. Olympic champion in women’s wrestling (Helen Maroulis) and the youngest U.S. Olympic wrestling champion regardless of discipline (Amit Elor). In the 21 Senior World Teams led by Terry, the U.S. has won an astonishing 72 medals, with 22 golds, 17 silvers and 33 bronzes. He has coached five of the six women inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Before joining USA Wrestling, Terry worked as a Division I assistant coach at Wisconsin and Oregon State.
Troy has held coaching roles at multiple major Division I wrestling programs, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Oregon State and Fresno State, building nationally competitive teams while mentoring countless student-athletes in character, discipline and leadership. Currently, Troy is the head coach of the Gopher Wrestling Club in Minneapolis, where he coaches aspirational World and Olympic wrestlers.
Both Troy and Terry have continued to return to Bismarck and other cities in North Dakota for wrestling camps and coaching seminars, giving back to the program, community and state that launched their stellar careers as world-class wrestlers. In October of 2026, they created the Steiner Rough Rider Foundation, established to provide athletic scholarships to North Dakota student-athletes.
Presented: October 1, 2026
Portrait Painted By: Vern Skaug