Terry Steiner, left, and Troy Steiner celebrate with Adeline Maria Gray after she won the final match of women’s wrestling 76 kg in the 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships on Sept. 19, 2019, in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. (Photo courtesy of USA Wrestling)
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – A pair of Bismarck natives will be the 51st and 52nd recipients of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the highest commendation that can be given to the state’s citizens.
Gov. Kelly Armstrong announced Thursday he selected Troy Steiner and Terry Steiner, twin brothers born and raised in Bismarck, for the award to honor their work as athletes, coaches and mentors.
“The names Troy and Terry Steiner are legendary in the wrestling world, carrying a well-earned reputation of excellence not only in North Dakota but on both the national and international stage,” Armstrong said.
The brothers have enjoyed individual success at every level. They began by winning a collective five state titles as students at Bismarck Century High School, together received seven All-American honors and an NCAA championship apiece while at the University of Iowa, and each enjoyed success at the 1996 Pan-American Games and numerous other national and international competitions.
“The people in the community of Bismarck and the state of North Dakota have lifted us up from the very beginning, and we are forever grateful,” Terry Steiner said in a statement. “Our North Dakota roots and the nurturing community that we grew up in allowed us to grow, flourish and succeed in our athletic, professional and personal lives.”
While the brothers spent their youth collecting accolade after accolade, Armstrong said their greatest mark on the wrestling world has come through coaching.
Terry, the head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Wrestling Team since 2002, has coached five of the six women who have been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He’s led the women’s freestyle team in six Olympic Games and has coached the United States’ first Olympic champion in women’s wrestling, Helen Maroulis, as well as the youngest American Olympic wrestling champion, Amit Elor.
Troy, the head coach at the Gopher Wrestling Club in Minneapolis, coaches aspirational world and Olympic wrestlers. He has held coaching roles at a host of major Division I programs including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Oregon State and Fresno State.
“As competitors, coaches and mentors, Terry and Troy have built a legacy that continues to elevate North Dakota and strengthen the sport of wrestling for future generations,” Armstrong said.
The brothers thanked Armstrong for the selection and the people of North Dakota for helping them become who they are today.
“Growing up in North Dakota shaped who we are in every area of our lives. The values of hard work, humility, faith and community were not just taught – they were lived,” Troy Steiner said in a statement.
The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award honors present and former North Dakotans who have achieved national recognition in their chosen fields. The award was first established in 1961.
North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe and State Historical Society Director Bill Peterson concurred with Armstrong’s choice to bestow the awards.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Bismarck this fall.
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