FRAIN, Darrell ~ Graceland's Hall of Fame

FRAIN, ALLEN

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 8/26/2013 at 07:20:50

HALL of FAME

Darrell Frain
Graceland University, Lamoni, Iowa

Darrell FRAIN graduated from Graceland in 1991 and became an educator and highly acclaimed coach, teaching high school special education for 18 years at Creston, IA High School.

While at Graceland, Darrell excelled in both baseball and football for the Yellowjackets, lettering all four years in each sport.

Darrell's abilities in football allowed him to successfully co-captain the team in his junior and senior years. His athletic skill was also prevalent in baseball as he received All-Conference honors in 1990.

His passion for coaching is evident, having spearheaded the wrestling team at Creston High School from 1999-2010 where the overall record stands at 191-44. For his efforts, Darrell received the 2008 NFHS Coaches Association Iowa "Wrestling Coach of the Year" award and the ICOA 2A "Wrestling Coach of the Year" award, and is the six time winner of the 2AA Southwest Iowa District "Wrestling Coach of the Year" award. The overall performance of his athletes is a testament to his passion for coaching. From 2003 to 2008 his wrestling team never finished lower than 3rd place at the Iowa State Wrestling Tournament. In 2007 his team finished first and in 2008 the team achieved a second place state finish. He brought home district titles in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. His teams have also earned sectional titles and conference titles during his tenure.

Overall, Coach FRAIN has captured 11 individual state championships and 6 state runner-ups along with 65 state qualifiers. In addition to success at the high school level, Darrell has had 14 athletes continue on to wrestle at the college level, including 3 Division-I athletes and 2 Division-I All-Americans. In addition to coaching wrestling, Coach FRAIN has coached baseball, track, and football at various high schools around Iowa.

Darrell married Kimberly ALLEN (Graceland '91) and they have 3 children: Madison, Trevor, and Brody.

Darrell FRAIN was inducted into Graceland University's Hall of Fame in 2010.

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Omaha World-Herald
Omaha, Nebraska
Saturday, January 28, 2012, by Evan Bland

Panthers pull out Hawkeye Ten victory

CLARINDA, Iowa — Darrell FRAIN has endured a rocky history with the Hawkeye Ten Conference wrestling meet.

The Creston/Orient-Macksburg coach couldn't win the tournament when his teams were down. Some years he had the Panthers on a workout schedule that wasn't ideal for winning the league event. Even in 2007 — when the school earned state titles in tourney and dual formats — the Hawk-10 crown eluded the group in red and black.

Not this time. Behind a meet-high five individual champions, the Panthers broke through for their first conference prize since 1988 during a dominating performance Saturday at Clarinda High School. The outcome ended Lewis Central's four-year stranglehold on the competition.

"I can't even tell you how mad I was at the situation that year we won state and lost this thing," said FRAIN, in his 12th year as coach. "This one was really good to get. They knew we had a little more importance on this meet, but the guys weren't feeling any pressure."

FRAIN said some creative maneuvering of wrestlers at certain weights added a few valuable points to the cause. Anything, the coach said, to finally nail down a tournament that had been hard to get.

"We pulled back a little this year just to see if we could win it with fresher legs," FRAIN said. "It turned out well for us."

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Omaha World-Herald
Omaha, Nebraska
Saturday, January 19, 2013, by Evan Bland

Panthers run away with tourney title

CORNING, Iowa — Tired and dealing with an assortment of illnesses, the Creston-Orient/Macksburg wrestling team still removed any suspense early about whether it would defend its John J. Harris tournament title.

The Panthers ran away with the two-day, 22-team meet Saturday, crowning three individual champions nearly 24 hours after advancing nine to the semifinal round. The fifth-ranked squad in Iowa Class 2-A accumulated 222.5 points in the meet’s 58th edition, well ahead of second-place Clarinda (140), Chariton (108.5) and Tri-Center (108).

"All the way through, they just took care of business and built our lead (Friday) night," Creston coach Darrell FRAIN said. "It made it really tough on everyone else today."

The outcome was impressive given Creston’s physical condition. The squad began two-a-day workouts last week to begin ramping up toward sectionals early next month.

Also fighting the Panthers was an assortment of ailments — from colds to skin infections to plenty of bruises. And yet, 11 earned medals for placing in the top six. Winning their weights were 2-A No. 1 Jake Marlin (138 pounds), No. 5 Trevor FRAIN (at 160, but wrestled at 170) and No. 1 Keaton Hulett (195).

Trevor FRAIN was throwing up with flu-like symptoms late in the week. But the senior recovered well enough Saturday to reach the finals, where he beat Atlantic’s Matt Williamson 6-3.

"This is a big deal for southwest Iowa," FRAIN said. "This is a tournament where everyone kind of looks up to us. We kind of dominated, and that’s our mindset now.”

Along with their ranked wrestlers, the Panthers got big performances from junior Kruz Adamson (second at 113), senior Jacob Johnston (third at 145), junior Gavin Leith (fifth at 152), junior Adam Baker (third at 160) and senior Cole Tanner (third at 200), among others.

"Sometimes we kind of train through this tournament, but for some reason we seemed to peak a little more this time than in past years," Darrell FRAIN said. "Hopefully it continues for us."

SOURCE: gujackets.com/f/Hall_of_Fame.php

Transcriptions and Submission by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2013