Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame
Waldner was a three-time All-American wrestler, finishing fourth at 177 pounds in 1988, seventh at 177 in 1989 and sixth at 190 in 1997 at the NAIA National Tournament. His 96-33 career record gives him a .745 winning percentage, one of the best in school history.
Waldner was both an NAIA Area Tournament champion and a RMAC champion in 1990, his senior year. During his career, he pinned 37 of his opponents and was pinned just twice. Waldner holds the Chadron State record for fastest pin, in nine seconds. He was the team’s Outstanding Wrestler three times. While attending CSC and immediately afterwards, he won several “tough man” competitions, often against much larger opponents. “His head was made of concrete,” said Darold Andrist, who was Waldner’s first wrestling coach at CSC.
After he worked several years at the Pine Ridge Job Corps Center south of Chadron following graduation from CSC, Waldner is a social student supervisor at the Mingo Job Corps Center at Puxico, Mo. Waldner and his wife, Kim, a 1993 CSC graduate, have five children.
