Tiffany leaves impressive legacy at Warren
When you look over the credentials of Mark Tiffany they resemble a who's who in the history of Illinois high school wrestling and beyond.
After just over four decades of high school and college wrestling as an athlete and a coach, Tiffany will be calling it a career at the end of the 2009-10 wrestling season.
And what a career it was as it all began on a cool November day in 1968 when Tiffany began his freshman wrestling season at Waukegan High School.
Little did Tiffany know on that fateful first day just what this demanding sport of wrestling would have in store for him in terms of his future path in life as an elite wrestler, a successful coach, and a dedicated teacher for the past 27 years at Warren High School.
After reaching the IHSA state meet as a sophomore, Tiffany was undefeated his junior year until he fell ill at sectionals and missed making a return trip downstate.
But that disappointment would be short-lived as Tiffany bounced back his senior year at Waukegan to capture the 185-pound state title with a perfect 27-0 record under the guidance of legendary coach Larry TenPas along with being named the IHSA wrestler of the year and earning high school All-American honors in 1972.
"Being at Waukegan with the tradition they had I was just lucky to be in a program like that and certainly Larry (TenPas) taught me how to be a champion," said Tiffany, who is a PE instructor. "I was lucky to do a lot of traveling and it was a great experience all because of wrestling and it has opened up a lot of doors."
The acclaim of being an undefeated state champion really opened those doors for Tiffany as he would capture a silver medal at the Jr. World Games in Rome, Italy, in the summer of 1972 before earning a scholarship to perennial college wrestling power Oklahoma State that fall.
"He was obviously a great wrestler and one of the best wrestlers Illinois has ever had, and he almost pinned his way through his senior year," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert, who was a 126-pound state runner-up in 1974. "The thing I'll miss about Mark not coaching Warren are the seeding meetings. He's got everyone laughing five minutes into the meeting and he is absolutely the funniest guy in the wrestling coaching fraternity."
Tiffany's stay at OSU was cut short after about a year and a half when he realized that adjusting to life in Stillwater in the early 1970's just "wasn't the right place for me." But he found a new home when he transferred to Northern Illinois University after having to sit out a year.
As a sophomore at NIU, Tiffany thrived right away as he placed sixth at 190 pounds to earn NCAA All-American honors in 1975 as well as being named Mid-American Conference wrestler of the year and NIU athlete of the year that season.
Tiffany did qualify for nationals as a junior, but he got injured and did not compete in the tournament.
He was ranked No. 2 early in the season as a senior before getting sick the week of nationals and bowing out early in the tournament.
A lot of people played key roles in Tiffany's career like long-time friend Tony Filippo, who wrestled with Tiffany at Webster Jr. High, WHS, and NIU before coaching together at Warren for about 19 years.
Dick Hyde was one of Tiffany's assistant football coaches at Waukegan (and former Waukegan mayor) and Hyde is credited with starting the Warren wrestling program in 1954.
While he will fall a bit short of the 400-win plateau, Tiffany has 361 career dual-meet wins entering his final season as the Blue Devils' coach and he is only the fourth coach in school history along with Hyde (five years), Don Hough (12 years), and Pete Campbell (13 years).
As a coach, Tiffany guided Mike Frecking to runner-up honors in 1990 with a 40-1 record as Frecking lost to a two-time state champ from Marist. Mike Ray (1995-96) took home a fifth and a sixth-place medal while Brennan Drew (2006-07) placed sixth twice. Justin Carlson took sixth in 2007.
"We built the program up where we've gotten a lot of guys downstate and my assistant Jim Ouimette would be a good guy to take the program over," said Tiffany, whose team was 21-0 in 2007 before placing second to Grant in regionals. "We may not have the individual stars that some of the other teams have, but we have good balance and put a good kid out at every weight class."
Tiffany also gives special thanks to Dr. Russ Schneider, who was Warren's first state wrestling champ in 1963, an all-American at Northwestern, and a major booster to the Warren wrestling program. Craig Murphy was Warren's only other state champion in 1966.
"It's more competitive today, and the quality of wrestling you see today is pretty high," Tiffany said. "I would still like to see only two classes for the individual tournament in wrestling, but three classes for the team tournament is alright."
A lot of people will miss Tiffany on the wrestling scene next season, but he has a permanent place in the WHS Hall of Fame (1999), the NIU Hall of Fame (2001), and the Illinois Wrestlers, Coaches, and Officials Hall of Fame (2003).
"I enjoy all the people, the kids have been great, and it's been a lot of fun," said Tiffany, who is soon to retire at only 56. "I never minded getting up and going to work, and Warren was a great place to be. They've always put the kids in the position to compete and they've always been behind the program."
With the luxury of being able to kick back and enjoy an early retirement, Tiffany will be able to do one of the things that a lot of coaches and former coaches probably wish they had more time to do.
"My wife (Jill) and daughter (Lauren) have supported me this whole time and my daughter is in three sports (volleyball, basketball, soccer) at Antioch," said Tiffany. "I'm going to spend time watching her games and I'll always be a part of watching wrestling."
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