Although he has retired, longtime wrestling coach Jim Morgan continues to bring accolades to Baylor.
Morgan, who announced on Feb. 21 that he was stepping down, has been named national coach of the year by Wrestling USA magazine.
"This represents an honor for a huge number of wrestlers and coaches and administrators who were behind me, believed in me and encouraged me," he said.
The award follows Baylor's 15th state wrestling championship under Morgan's guidance. The Red Raiders were hobbled by injuries through most of the season but rebounded to win the traditional state championship in a classic come-from-behind fashion.
"It was one of those years when seniors stepped up and wrestled through injury and pain," Morgan said.
He cited Cole Hayes, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga signee who finished third in the state.
"Cole didn't want anybody to know it, but he had separated his shoulder in the championship semifinals," Morgan recalled. "Everybody knew he had wrestled with an ankle injury most of the year, but then he came out and his shoulder was all taped up. I told him, 'Let's stop.' He said, 'No, I'm a senior and a captain.'
"He ended up finishing third, but as I have told kids for years, you never know when a major decision as opposed to a regular decision will be the difference."
Several wrestlers worked through injuries or back from injuries for Baylor to claim the championship with meager breathing room.
"I knew, our coaches knew and our wrestlers knew that we needed every point we could muster. It was one of the greatest and most gutsy efforts that I can imagine," Morgan said.
It is the second time Morgan has been a national coach of the year. He received a similar honor in 1975 while coaching UTC's team.
"These awards obviously mean that I have been surrounded by a lot of very good people throughout my career -- assistants like Schaack Van Deusen and Ben Nelson and outstanding wrestlers like Randy Faires, a Randy Batten here and a Turner Jackson there," Morgan said. "They happened and it happened. I got them safely where they needed to be and didn't mess them up."
Morgan survived when others might have sought an easier path, especially in his early days when he'd load the UTC team in one van and hit the road for dual meets. There were no hotel rooms or meal money. The Mocs slept in opponents' gyms or locker rooms, and their primary sustenance was peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.
Jackson was a two-time national champion for Morgan's Mocs.
"If it weren't for Coach Morgan, I wouldn't be where I am," said Jackson, now Bradley Central's athletic director. "He had the patience to stay with me when maybe I wasn't doing the things I was supposed to do. He taught me more than wrestling. He was always a family guy, and I think that's why a lot of guys in the (wrestling) old-timer's club still come around the (UTC) program. He always made us feel like family."
Van Deusen was part of two of Baylor's great wrestling combinations. He was an assistant to legendary Luke Worsham before Morgan arrived.
"I got to stand on the shoulders of two giants, and it has been an amazing ride," Van Deusen said. "Jim has always been a leader in the sense of integrity and family, and he has been amazing in creating a family environment at Baylor."