UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Bob Wozniak ranks as one of the most successful wrestlers in school history despite wrestling just three seasons under Don Parker’s tutelage as a pre-engineering student who had to transfer to UW-Madison to complete his degree. When he left UWEC, Wozniak had won more matches than any other Blugold, finishing with a career record of 109-23-2. The Stanley-Boyd prep won the WSUC 190-pound championship in both his sophomore and junior seasons after placing third as a freshman. He went on to place fourth at the NAIA championships in both 1988 and 1989 and was the national runner-up in 1990 when he produced a 38-3 overall record. He was 35-14-1 as a freshman and 36-6-1 as a sophomore. Wozniak was also named an NAIA Wrestling Scholar Athlete in 1990 and earned the Blugold Super Six Salute Award that same year.
With a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering, Wozniak worked for Safety Engineering Associates, Inc. from 1992 through 2001 as an engineering assistant and consulting mechanical engineer. At the time of his induction and beginning in 2002, Wozniak has been part owner of Skogen Engineering Group, Inc. of Madison and serves as Vice President-Engineering and consulting engineer. His areas of consulting activities include motor vehicle accident reconstruction, industrial and agricultural accident investigation and analysis and design analysis.
In the 10 years prior to his induction, he has worked with the Verona wrestling community, initially as a volunteer at the youth level and then as the head coach for the high school. In six years as the head coach, he had one state champion, two runners-up and two each third, fifth and sixth-place finishers. He has had 22 wrestlers with more than 30 wins and six with over 40 wins in a single season. At the time of his induction, his 13-year coaching career also includes three years as an assistant at Madison LaFollette and with the wrestling clubs at Madison LaFollette and Verona.
