Inductees

Dave attended Santa Ana Valley High School, where he finished 4th in CIF at 178 pounds and was honored as Athlete of the Year in 1967 and 1968. He wrestled at Santa Ana College and was undefeated during his sophomore year (1969) and was selected Athlete of the Year in 1970 after winning the California Junior College Championship at 177 pounds. He was also selected as Athlete of the Conference that year. At the University of Northern Colorado, Dave placed 3rd in the NCAA Division 2 Championships in 1971 and 2nd in 1972.

He won the U.S. Olympic Trials in Colorado Springs at 180.5 pounds in 1972, and he spent part of that year as an assistant coach at Santa Ana Valley HS. Between 1973-77, Dave was an assistant coach at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, where he coached Spyro Kemble (178) to a CIF State Championship in 1977. He coached the Police Athletic Association league team to a State Freestyle Championship in San Francisco in 1976. Don Schuler (4th in NCAA D1 for ASU) was a member of that team. Dave then served as an assistant coach at Santa Ana College from 1978-81 and assumed the head coach position in 1982. He coached Steve Draper (2X NCAA D2 Champion for Bakersfield College), Don Hill (3rd NAIA) and Aaron Thomas (National Champion at Liberty Baptist). Alexander moved on to spend the next decade (1983-93) as the head coach at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa where his teams won Sea View League titles in 1985, 1986 and 1987. Dave was voted Orange County Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1985.

Dave was a member of the OC Wrestling Coaches Association from 1973-1993. He was a member of the Orange County Wrestling Officials Association from 1990-2017, serving terms as President, Vice President and Evaluator for the group. He was a member of the National Wrestling Officials Association from 1975-2017, the Southern California Collegiate Wrestling Officials Association 1991-2015, and a member of the PAC 12 Collegiate Wrestling Officials Association, 2000-2015. He officiated the California High School State Championships twice, the CA Junior College Wrestling Championships six times, and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational from 1996- 2013, serving as the Officials/Coaches Liaison from 2013-17. He was an Evaluator for the Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling officials in 2014. Alexander earned a Masters of Art degree at Pepperdine University in 1976.

The retired educator was an art instructor for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District for 38 years, where he coached wrestling, football, girls cross country, track and field. Dave has been an organizer and Vice President of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame-California Chapter since 1999. He was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame (2018), into the Orange County Coaches Hall of Fame (2011), and into the Santa Ana College Athletic Hall of Fame (2008).