History of Central Cobbler Wrestling Program

Rapid City Central High School began wrestling in 1955 under Homer Englund who had wrestled at SDSU in 1949-50. The Cobblers had to travel to places such as Wheatland, WY for matches because there weren't other competing South Dakota Teams. Tom Long took over the Program in 1957 and began promoting the sport of wrestling in the Black Hills.

Coach Tom Long continued as Head Coach through the 1968 season after which he moved over to Rapid City Stevens to start wrestling over there.
During that time he coached the Cobblers to 3 Team Titles (1963, 1964 & 1965) along with 21 State Individual Champions and 49 other State Placers.

Coach Dave Ploof took over the Cobblers in 1969 and served as Head Coach and face of the program for the next 25 years. He was responsible for bringing 3 more Team Titles to RC Central HS (1977, 1978 & 1984). During his time as Head Coach the Cobblers also enjoyed 20 State Individual Titles along with 64 other State Placers. Towards the end of this time Coach Ploof was also very active in the Post 22 Baseball Program.

Coach Dan Mahoney was brought to the Cobblers in 1994. During his 9 years as Head Coach the Cobblers had 5 State Individual Champions and 25 more State Placers. He is also responsible for bringing the Cobbler Wrestling Program back to being competitive in the Region and State.

Coach Lance Pearson took over from Coach Mahoney in 2003 after serving under him for 5 seasons as an Assistant.

For more history on the sport of Wrestling in South Dakota found HERE!

"Once A Cobbler, Always A Cobbler"