Gov. Kelly Armstrong today presented the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award to twin brothers Terry Steiner and Troy Steiner, lauding the wrestlers and wrestling coaches for their immeasurable impact on their sport and for bringing honor to their home state.
Armstrong selected the Steiner twins in March as the 51st and 52nd recipients of the Rough Rider Award, North Dakota’s highest commendation bestowed upon its citizens. He presented them with the award tonight in the Capitol’s Memorial Hall, joined by hundreds of the Steiners’ family members, friends, USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender, and other wrestling colleagues and fans.
“Achieving such greatness and success would have been enough for some athletes, but Troy and Terry have continued to give back to the sport that has given them so much,” Armstrong said. “As coaches and ambassadors, their impact and influence on the sport of wrestling cannot be measured. They have inspired countless young men and women to pursue the sport of wrestling.”
“Without question, Terry and Troy have brought distinction to their home state,” Armstrong added, calling the brothers “the embodiment of the North Dakota values we look to celebrate with the Rough Rider Award: hard work, humility, generosity, tenacity and true grit.”
“The Rough Rider Award represents the very best of what it means to come from this state. To be included among those who have received it is something we don’t take lightly,” Terry Steiner said. “While our names may be attached to this award, the truth is this recognition belongs to a lot of people. It belongs to our family, it belongs to our coaches, our mentors, our teammates, and our community. It belongs to the people of North Dakota who helped shape us into who we are today. We didn’t just grow up in North Dakota. North Dakota built us.”
Troy Steiner announced the establishment of the Steiner Rough Rider Foundation to help under-resourced young people throughout North Dakota move forward through sport – to create opportunities for kids to participate, learn, compete, be mentored, and discover what they’re capable of becoming. He noted their father instructed his three children to “pay it forward.”
“For our family, the foundation brings this entire journey full circle,” Troy said. “We want to help create those same kinds of opportunities for another generation of young North Dakotans. And while wrestling will always be a part of our story, this isn’t just about wrestling. It’s about sport, it’s about young people, and it’s about opportunity. And it’s about giving back to a state and to the people who gave so much to us.”
Born and raised in Bismarck, the Steiner brothers were among the first members of MATPAC Wrestling when coach Milo Trusty founded the now-nationally ranked club in 1978. As wrestlers for Bismarck Century High School, Troy won three individual state titles at 112, 119 and 125 pounds from 1986-1988, and Terry won back-to-back titles in 1987-1988 at 126 and 130 pounds.
The brothers found continued success on the college wrestling circuit at the University of Iowa. Troy won All-American honors all four years, Terry became a three-time All-American, and each won an individual NCAA championship – Troy at 142 pounds in 1992 and Terry at 150 pounds in 1993. Troy was a three-time Big Ten Conference champion.
Troy went on to represent the United States as a nine-time member of the U.S. National Team, winning titles at the 1992 World Cup and the 1996 Pan-American Games. He placed third at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1992 and 1996. Terry also became a member of the U.S. National Team, competing at the highest levels of freestyle wrestling that included being a 1996 Pan American champion, who placed at the U.S. Open a number of times.
Bender, the USA Wrestling executive director, said, “When you say the words ‘North Dakota Tough,’ you think of the Steiners.”
“I have had the privilege of knowing Troy and Terry for over 30 years, first as competitors and now as colleagues and friends,” Bender said. “And I can tell you, the names Troy and Terry Steiner, as has been said many times, is ‘legendary’ in the wrestling world for a reason – carrying a well-earned reputation of excellence not only in North Dakota but both on the national and international stage.”
Terry has led the U.S. Women’s National Wrestling Team as head coach since 2002. Under his guidance, USA Wrestling’s women’s program has been built into an elite power in international wrestling and helped create opportunity that has led women’s wrestling to become the fastest-growing female sport in the nation. Terry has led the U.S. women’s freestyle team for six Olympic Games – every Olympics that has included women’s wrestling dating back to Athens in 2004. He has coached 12 Olympic medalists – four gold medalists, three silver medalists and five bronze medalists – including the first U.S. Olympic champion in women’s wrestling (Helen Maroulis) and the youngest U.S. Olympic wrestling champion regardless of discipline (Amit Elor). In the 21 Senior World Teams led by Terry, the U.S. has won an astonishing 72 medals, with 22 golds, 17 silvers and 33 bronzes. He has coached five of the six women inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Before joining USA Wrestling, Terry worked as a Division I assistant coach at Wisconsin and Oregon State.
At the time Terry was hired by USA Wrestling, “women’s wrestling was fighting for legitimacy,” Bender said.
“And Terry didn’t just coach the team. Terry Steiner built a program from scratch,” he said. “Under his guidance, USA Wrestling’s Women’s Program has been built into an elite power.”
Troy Steiner “took a different but equally impactful path,” Bender said. Troy has held coaching roles at multiple major Division I wrestling programs, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Oregon State and Fresno State, building nationally competitive teams while mentoring countless student-athletes in character, discipline and leadership. Currently, Troy is the head coach of the Gopher Wrestling Club in Minneapolis, where he coaches aspirational World and Olympic wrestlers.
Both Troy and Terry have continued to return to Bismarck and other cities in North Dakota for wrestling camps and coaching seminars, giving back to the program, community and state that launched their stellar careers as world-class wrestlers.
The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award recognizes present and former North Dakotans who have been influenced by the state in achieving national recognition in their fields of endeavor, thereby reflecting credit and honor upon North Dakota and its citizens. Established during the 1961 Dakota Territory Centennial, the award was initially given as an honorary rank of Colonel in the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Riders.
North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe and State Historical Society Director Bill Peterson both concurred with Armstrong’s selection of Terry Steiner and Troy Steiner for the Rough Rider Award. During tonight's ceremony, they assisted in unveiling the official portrait of the Steiner brothers, painted by Minot-based artist Vern Skaug, who since 1970 has painted many of the portraits hanging in the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of Fame at the North Dakota Capitol.