Benny Coleman
Choctaw High School
Impact Statement
Coleman has led Choctaw to multiple State Championships, both as a team and individually.
Biography
There aren’t many schools competing, but life on the wrestling mat may not be more competitive anywhere in the nation than in Oklahoma’s Class 5A. Oklahoma’s biggest enrollment division in wrestling includes less than 30 schools, but there are few easy marks among them. Broken Arrow, Midwest City, Del City, Muskogee, Lawton. The list goes on and on. Next year, traditional Class 4A powerhouse Tulsa East Central moves up to 5A to join them. And then there’s Choctaw.
Choctaw wasn’t always one of the state’s powerhouses. The traditional strength of the class lay in those other schools. Since Benny Coleman arrived, things at Choctaw have changed. Maybe it was the desire to bring the school that he attended into the state’s wrestling elite. In any case, a lot of things came together, and quickly. Choctaw won double Class 5A state team titles, both in the dual and the individual state tournaments in 1994 and 1997. Having guided his team from the pack into Oklahoma’s wrestling elite; Coleman says he’s just trying to survive in an extremely competitive atmosphere. “The coaches here are all very competitive,” Coleman said “There’s a lot of pride, and everybody is trying to do what’s best for their program. It keeps everybody on their toes and motivated to succeed at a high level. Many of the coaches are involved year round. We have a lot of tradition here in Oklahoma, but we don’t have a real population, so that’s one way our kids can stay at such a high level.”
Since being honored, Coleman has continued to lead Choctaw.
In 2016, Coleman’s team returned to the best of the state after winning the 6A State Championship, with some help from his Freshman son Zane who won his first title that evening.
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