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The curiosity was thick enough it could almost be touched.
Ropes dangled from the ceiling of the CenturyLink Center in Omaha and questions hung in the air; underneath, as if to guard the ropes, stood two Soldiers.
School after school was announced and representatives flooded the floor to surround the ropes and Soldiers. Then, an announcer asked members of the audience who had served in the military to stand and be recognized, causing some of the pieces of the puzzle to start falling into place.
The ropes made even more sense once rapellers started down from them, the American flag following close behind. Soon, more Soldiers in dress uniforms took their places under the ropes. These Soldiers were being honored this night of the 2018 Nebraska High School State Wrestling Meet for their service in the military and for their tie to wrestling – the true focus of the night.
Among these Soldiers being honored was Command Sgt. Major Dean Reicks, the command sergeant major for the Nebraska Army National Guard’s 67th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. Reicks had been a state wrestling champion over 35 years before.
“I felt honored,” Reicks said about the Feb. 14 ceremony. He was one of three who were honored for both their commitment to wrestling and for their military service. “But I wanted to get people recognized who recently came back from deployment.”
His humbleness showed when Nebraska School Activities Association’s Ron Higdon asked Reicks to nominate some people to be honored at the State Wrestling Meet with the condition that he needed to be one of them – the condition coming because he probably would not have done it otherwise.
You see, Reicks was honored not only for his rich military career, but also for a history in wrestling that covers the past 40 years.
Wrestling has always been a big part of Reicks’ family as his brothers and other family members wrestled. “My cousins,” Reicks said, “even some of my second and third cousins in Iowa (wrestled.) We didn’t know each other until we got involved with wrestling.”
Reicks grew up on a small farm in Petersburg, Nebraska, the second oldest of five boys and a sister. While attending Pope John XXIII Central Catholic High School in Elgin, he wrestled for four years making the State Wrestling Meet his sophomore, junior and senior years. Those final two years, Reicks finished as the state champion in his weight category.
Following high school, Reicks initially joined the U.S. Army Reserves in the summer of 1981 as a way to keep his job at the time. Shortly after joining, though, he said, he decided to go to college.
He moved to Kearney where he attended college and joined the wrestling team.
Reicks spent a little over a year in the Army Reserve before transferring to the Nebraska Army National Guard after encouragement from his college wrestling coach, retired Maj. Gen. Jack Ramey. Ramey helped Reicks get tuition assistance as well as a scholarship that helped him through his college career, Reicks said.
And what a college career it was.
His freshman year he was named All-American and finished eighth nationally. He sat out his sophomore year, but came back his junior year and finished fourth, and finished second his senior year.
Reicks graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Education and then went on to teach. He taught high school Business, Economics, and Physical Education for about 18 years before taking a full-time position with the Nebraska National Guard.
He and his wife of 35 years, Catherine, have three children, Beth, Nate, and Monica. Their son, Nate, wrestled in high school and college, as well, and now serves full-time in the Nebraska Army National Guard like his father.
Even today, Reicks continues to support local school wrestling programs by attending meets and following the current seasons.
He also continues to participate, competing in “old-timers” wrestling among family, friends, former contestants and even the Cornhusker State Games.
“Wrestling, like the Guard, is family,” Reicks said, “It’s a small group. Every time I meet up with the coaches, we catch up.”
Reicks said he enjoys going to the meets to watch the competitors, because, especially as a coach, he likes watching the strategies of the wrestlers – the physical and mental exertion.
Reicks had to give up coaching when he took a full-time position with the Nebraska National Guard. Going to the meets keeps him connected to the wrestling world. He would have been at the state meet even if they hadn’t honored him, he said. It’s also a way to socialize for him and his wife.
“Wrestling is like a family,” Cathy said. “So you network and you know those people and a lot of the coaches are people you either competed against or you wrestled with (in high school or college.)”
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2018 13:15 |
| Story ID: | 279625 |
| Location: | OMAHA, NEBRASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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