Assistant Principal Krueger Inducted into IHSAA Wrestling Hall of Fame

Most MCHS students know Associate Principal Christopher Krueger as the ‘big, buff dude’ in the office. But what most don’t know is that before going into administration work, he was a wrestling coach. Recently, Krueger was inducted into the IHSAA Wrestling Hall of Fame.

“I think the biggest impact was when I got the award and some of my past wrestlers saw it,” said Krueger.

“They texted me things like ‘Thanks, coach, those were the best four years of my life.’ ‘You have no idea how much you impacted my life, even as an adult,’ ” said Krueger. “So to get those messages, I think meant more than even winning the trophies with those guys in my lineup.”

Krueger says these relationships aren’t just important on the mat but in everyday life, with coaches, wrestlers, students, and parents.

“The steps that I took were building relationships. I feel like trying to do that same thing here in my job at Mason City, but as a coach was always just to build good relationships with my wrestlers, with their parents. We just kind of try to build a family environment with the teams that I’ve worked with.”

Krueger continues by talking about the timing and how it felt.

“There was a lot of pride when I got the award. The timing was really good. My dad had a huge influence on my career and he has stage 4 cancer right now. So the fact that he was gonna get to celebrate that with me. That’s why I think when I heard it, that was my first thought.”

In the past years Krueger has received numerous coaching honors over the years, including the Bob Siddens Coaching Excellence Award, and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2025. He was also recently named the 2026 Iowa associate principal of the year at Mason City.

“Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.” -Dan Gable