Paul Ehrhard, who coached the Albert Lea wrestling team to three team state championships and is a member of the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, died on June 2. Ehrhard, who was living in Hastings, was 89.
Paul Ehrhard, Hall of Fame high school wrestling coach at Albert Lea, has died
Ehrhard, who was 89, coached three teams and 15 individuals to state championships.
June 26, 2023 at 11:53PM
As the wrestling coach at Albert Lea from 1957 to 1977, he coached 15 individual state champions. Albert Lea won team titles in 1966, 1971 and 1976 (Class 2A).
Ehrhard retired from coaching in 1977 with a record of 234-25-6. His teams also won 10 Big Nine Conference and Region 1 championships.
Ehrhard, who was born in Oconomowoc, Wis., graduated from Montgomery (Minn.) High School in 1950 and from St. Thomas. He also earned a master's degree from Minnesota State Mankato.
He taught at Kasson-Mantorville High School before moving to Albert Lea.
He was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1988 and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame — for lifetime service to wrestling — in 2006.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
