79th Geary Invitational Hall of Fame
Launch the media gallery 1 playerThree new honorees of the Geary Invitational Wrestling Tournament Hall of Fame were recognized before Finals began Saturday, Jan. 6. Holding their Bison statuettes are Kenny Ritchie, Dale Estep, and Lee Roy Smith.
Kenny Ritchie of Moore, Oklahoma, is a retired firefighter who has dedicated most of his life to the sport of wrestling. Kenny is married to Tiffani Ritchie. They have a daughter, Kendra, son-in-law Ryan, and 8 grandchildren.
Going on his 42nd year as an official, Ritchie is the current Big 12 conference coordinator of officials. For the past 22 years, he has served as President of the Central Oklahoma Wrestling Association.
Some highlights of his career include:
- 17 NCAA Division 1 National Championships
- 14 NCAA Division 1 Championship Finals Matches
- 15 NCAA Division 2 National Championships
- 1 NCAA National Wrestling All-Star Classic
- 8 NCAA National Dual Tournaments
- 31 Big 12 and Big 8 Conference Tournaments
- 11 Pac 10 and Pac 12 Conference Tournaments
In 2009, Ritchie was inducted into the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his Lifetime Service to Wrestling. In 2015, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as their Meritorious Official.
Now, in 2024, Kenny Ritchie is a Bob Stegall Hall of Fame inductee of the Geary Invitational Wrestling Tournament.
Dale Estep was a two-time state champion wrestler at Geary High School and competed collegiately at Adams State for two years before returning to the state to attend Southwestern Oklahoma, where he graduated.
He took over as head coach at Noble High School in 1968 and held that post for 22 years, racking up an impressive 223-38 dual record.
Estep's teams had 15 top-10 state tournament finishes and he coached 12 state champions along with 21 All-Staters.
In all, he spent 34 years at Noble as a coach, teacher and athletic director. Estep also served a long stint as a state coordinator for the International Wrestling Exchange program that brought teams from Japan, New Zealand, Germany and Poland to Oklahoma.
For his passion to help grow the sport, Dale Estep was honored with the 2018 Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award by the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
We’re proud to call him our own and now a member of the Geary Invitational Wrestling Tournament’s Bob Stegall Hall of Fame!
Lee Roy Smith has served as Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum in Stillwater since 2004, leading the organization to unprecedented growth and sustainability. Prior to joining the NWHOF, Smith was a development officer at the University of Florida and served Subiaco Abbey & Academy as director of development.
Before becoming a nonprofit executive, Smith was the head wrestling coach at Arizona State University, earning six top 10 NCAA finishes and Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times in nine seasons. He led USA Wrestling’s national freestyle team to extraordinary success at the 1989, 1990, and 1991 World Championships, and the 1992 Olympics, serving as its national coach.His wrestling coaching career began as an assistant at Oklahoma State University.
As a competitor, he won a silver medal in the 1983 World Championships and was an NCAA and four-time Big Eight champion for OSU. Smith, took up the sport of wrestling in 1968 while in the 4th grade. Little did he know at the time that he would be leading the way for one of the greatest wrestling family dynasty’s in the United States, with three of his younger brothers becoming successful wrestlers in the sport.
He would eventually become a two-time state wrestling champion for Del City High School in 1975 and ’76. He participated in two Geary Tournaments while in high school and won both tournaments for the Eagles during his sophomore and senior years. He would go on to record two National Junior Freestyle Championships in 1975 and 1976 for Team Oklahoma. He and his wife, Lisa, have been married 37 years and have two daughters, two son-in-laws and three grandsons.
Let’s welcome Lee Roy Smith into the Geary Invitational Wrestling Tournament’s Bob Stegall Hall of Fame.