Scott Bliss, former Othello wrestler, passes away at 56

(MCT) - It was just 8 a.m. when Ron Finley arrived in Salem at the recruit's doorstep carrying a letter of intent to wrestle at Oregon.

But just as UO's head wrestling coach prepared to walk in and sign Babak Mohammadi, he realized he'd been beaten to it. And not just by anyone -- one of his former Duck wrestlers and All-Americans, Scott Bliss.

"He had it in his hand as he walked out of the door," Finley remembered Tuesday evening. "That's the kind of competitor he was. He was going to get it done first."

Bliss died Dec. 12 in his hometown of Othello, Wash., at age 56. As a Duck from 1977-80, he set a program record for career victories that still stands after the program was discontinued following the 2008 NCAA championships. As a senior, Bliss was the NCAA runner-up at 150 pounds, giving him his second All-American honors of his career, and earned the Pac-10 medal, awarded to the top male and female athletes at each conference university.

He was also a national high school champion in 1975. Later named Montana's head coach at just 24 years old, he also coached at Wyoming and Oregon State over the course of the next decade. He was named conference coach of the year in both the Big Sky and WAC.

"Scott was one of the best wrestlers we ever had at the University of Oregon," said Finley, UO's head coach from 1971-98. "He was a tremendous competitor, he learned fast and he was a hard worker. He lived in south Eugene and he ran to school every day and ran home every night, which was quite a ways, maybe four miles. That's just the type of person he was."

In 1981, Bliss competed in both the Wold Championships in Oslo, Norway, for the United States and the World University Games, where he finished fourth. After his run in college, he led Auburn (Wash.) High to two state championships in 1994 and 1996 and finished coaching and teaching at Mead High in Spokane.

He is survived by his former wife, Cindy; and two sons, Jacob and Nolan.

"He was a good leader on the team and I think there weren't many things he couldn't accomplish," Finley said. "He was a good friend. It hurts. It hurts all of us."

He also founded Washington's "Dream DUals" in which the state's best teams competed in a dual-meet format, and was an early leader in involving girls in prep wrestling in the state.

A memorial service is planned for Dec. 21 at Othello's First Presbyterian Church.