Blackwell Native Mark Leen to Be Inducted into NJCAA Hall of Fame

Another prestigious honor has been added to the storied career of Blackwell native and legendary wrestling coach Mark Leen, who will be inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Fame.

Leen’s coaching career began in Oklahoma, where he built a dominant wrestling program at Shawnee High School from 1979 to 1987. His 1986 team finished the season undefeated and was recognized as the top high school wrestling squad in the nation. That same year, Leen was named National Coach of the Year by Wrestling USA magazine. From 1984 to 1987, his Shawnee teams put together an impressive 56-match undefeated streak.

In 1987, Leen moved to the collegiate ranks, taking over the program at Garden City Community College in Kansas. There, he compiled a remarkable 98-3 dual meet record, including a national-record 81-match winning streak. Under his leadership, Garden City produced 12 national champions and 49 All-Americans. Leen guided the Broncbusters to the first national championship in any sport in school history in 1992, followed by additional national titles in 1994 and 1995. His teams were national runners-up in 1988 and 1989 and never finished lower than seventh place at the national tournament. Garden City also captured the regional championship in each of Leen’s eight seasons at the helm.

Leen left Garden City in 1995 to coach at NCAA Division I University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. During six seasons with the Mocs, he led the program to three Southern Conference team championships before retiring from coaching in 2000 to enter private business.

The NJCAA Hall of Fame induction adds to a lengthy list of accolades for Leen, including the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award from the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015. He was inducted into the Shawnee Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Garden City Community College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.

Leen will be formally recognized during the NJCAA’s annual awards banquet in March in Council Bluffs, Iowa.