As it turns out, John and Ray Miller helped each other reach the pinnacle of their sport. The father-son combination from Sacred Heart have learned that they will enter the Dave Bartelma Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame together, along with former Raymond, Clara City-Raymond and MACCRAY wrestling coach Harlan "Butch" Steen.
"This is very special for me to be going in with John," said Ray Miller. "We shared a few tears when we heard the news."
The Millers and Steen will be inducted in a ceremony April 28 at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, along with Bruce Bartels, John Paming, Albert Russ, Jim Tannehill and Pat Short.
"It's really an honor," said Steen. "I was surprised when I heard I had made it. I had a lot of very good wrestlers who were willing to work hard and they deserve a lot of the credit. I feel very fortunate."
John Miller was first told that his father was being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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"My brother-in-law (Darrel Refsland, who is also an assistant wrestling coach at Renville County West) actually told me first. He said he had some news to tell me," John said. "When he told me my dad was going to be in the Hall of Fame, I was so excited. I had been hoping he would get in for years.
"And then (Refsland) told me he had some more exciting news to tell me and said I was also going to be in the Hall of Fame. I would have never made it (into the Hall of Fame) without my dad."
Ray Miller
Miller began his coaching career at Roslyn, S.D., where he started the wrestling program in 1963. He then moved to Sacred Heart in 1968 and started the wrestling program there, as well. He continued coaching through several pairings and/or consolidations (Renville-Sacred Heart, Belview-Danube-Renville-Sacred Heart) until retiring after the 1998-99 season with Renville County West, where he was also a physical education instructor. He compiled a 243-259-8 record.
Miller, who didn't wrestle himself at Willow Lake High School or Huron College, was district, region and Two Twelve Conference Coach of the Year several times. He coached six state champions, including the four won by his son. His older son, Rob, placed third twice at state.
He is currently a volunteer assistant with the RCW wrestling program and filled in as head coach Tuesday night for the Jaguars when head coach Scott Fransen was not able to make the match because of back problems.
He has recently returned to teaching as a physical education instructor at the Willmar Community Christian School.
He and his wife, Barb, also have a daughter, Leslie.
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JOHN MILLER
John, who graduated from Renville-Sacred Heart in 1985, was the state's second four-time state champion, following Steve Carr. He wrestled six years on the varsity and lost his first seven matches. After that, he lost only five more the rest of his career, finishing with an outstanding 173-12-1 record. He lost only one match in his final four years. He also won five Two Twelve Conference titles and was named Mr. Minnesota Wrestling in 1985.
He attended the University of Minnesota and had a 29-11 record there before a dislocated elbow sidelined him. He then transferred to South Dakota State, where he finished with a 7-3 record and qualified for nationals.
John is currently a farm manager for Golden Oval Eggs, Inc. in Renville. He and his wife, Tara, have two daughters, Sadie and Allie.
BUTCH STEEN
Steen, 1962 graduate of Browns Valley High School and 1967 graduate of South Dakota State University, began his wrestling coaching career at Raymond in 1972. His career spanned 25 years until he retired in 1996. His career record was 2310186-3.
Steen was the Region Coach of the Year in 1984, a five-time District Coach of the Year and a six-time Conference Coach of the Year.
He also coached baseball and football at Raymond. He is currently retired and has been the manager of the Raymond Rockets amateur baseball team for several years.
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He and his wife, Deena, live in Raymond. They have two daughters, Terri and Jennifer, and two sons, Trevor and Tyler.
