When Ken Denning got a call a couple of weeks ago from MSU, it took him back many years to when he had graduated from Great Falls High School and started studying architecture at MSU in the fall of 1963.
Ken could go to MSU because he got a Presidential Academic Scholarship which paid his tuition to any school in Montana. He had to be in the top two percent of his class and maintain a 3.2 GPA in college.
Ken wrestled in high school so it seemed natural that MSU would want him to wrestle on the college team.
“There were lots of Great Falls kids on our team,” said Ken. “One year there were ten from Great Falls.”
Denning got a small work/study wrestling scholarship to help making ends meet while wrestling.
It was especially difficult for Ken. Even though he wrestled four years at MSU, because he had architectural labs every afternoon but Tuesday. So, he always got to practice late and had to do a couple hours of makeup practice after most everyone else had gone home. But he made it and wrestled at 130 weight class. His coaches wanted him to wrestle at 123 and said they could guarantee him varsity status at that weight class. He just couldn’t maintain that class so wrestled when he could at 130.
To say the least, the teams in those years were fantastic!
“We were good every year. We had 7 first places in the 1964 year, 5 first places in the 1965 year and in 1966 had 9 out of l0.” Denning added.
There were just no teams in the Big Sky that could match them. Usually they took first or second year after year in those years.
Denning graduated in 1968 and started studying architecture in New Mexico, Texas, and finally home in Great Falls.
In 1975 Denning stopped working as an architect and in 1979 started his own construction in Big Sandy which he runs yet today.
Married to Anne for four years, Denning has five children. They are Bob who is a PA here in Big Sandy, Rick who is into nuclear in Idaho Falls, Jennifer who is a housewife in Manhattan, Montana, Jeremy who lives in Amarillo, Texas and Josh who lives in West Virginia.
Denning has eleven grand children.
The call from MSU came in the middle of January. MSU representatives told Denning that he was going to be honored at the MSU Hall of Fame along with his team for three years.
It is as it should have been as Denning said, “It was an amazing team. We never lost a meet and were undefeated for three years. We won the Big Sky Championship all three years.”
On January 29, 2016 there was a big ceremony in Bozeman and Denning along with his team mates were inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame. Their Hall of Fame years were from 1964 to 1966.
So, Ken is home with Anne in Big Sandy with a new cap and a beautiful Hall of Fame trophy and the pride that after all these years someone finally recognized what that tem contributed to MSU wrestling during those years.
Well done Ken!
