Dougherty to be inducted into the NHSACA Hall of Fame
Dave Dougherty, formerly assistant football coach, head wrestling coach and head girls’ track and field coach at Watford City High School has been selected by the North Dakota High School Coaches Association Executive Committee as one of two North Dakota coaches for 2009 induction into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association National Hall of Fame.
The awards will be presented at a noon luncheon on Tuesday, June 23, 2010, at the NHSACA National Annual Meeting at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel in Sioux Falls, S.D. This induction is the fifteenth induction class.
Dave Dougherty, a recent resident of Fargo, N.D., spent 28 years of his 31 years of coaching in Watford City, N.D. Dave and his wife, Danell, have four children: Chris and his wife, Christine; Aaron, Nicole, and Seth. They also have two grandsons, Carter and Parker.
Coach Dougherty spent 31 years coaching wrestling (23 years as head coach), 30 years coaching girls’ track and field (21 as head coach) and 26 years as an assistant football coach.
As head wrestling coach, Dougherty recorded 385 wins, including 47 tournament titles, with an 81.5 percent won/loss ratio. During his 31-year career, Dave coached 135 individual state place winners, including 33 individual state champions. There were also five state runner-up team finishes, four third place finishes, nine other top ten finishes and 14 regional championships.
Coach Dougherty was named regional Coach of the Year (COTY)on five occasions, NDHSCA State COTY in 1997 and NHSACA National Wrestling COTY in 2005. In 2003, Dougherty was inducted into the NDHSCA Hall of Fame.
Coach Dougherty’s teams won seven conference titles, 11 regional titles and a total of 101 multi-team track and field meet victories. He also coached five individual and five relay team state champions in those years.