Cael Norman Sanderson is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he won an Olympic gold medal and was undefeated in four years of college wrestling at Iowa State (159–0), becoming a four-time NCAA Division I champion (1999–2002).
Danny Mack Gable is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist. Gable was only the third wrestler to be inducted into the United World Wrestling's Hall of Fame in the Legend category. In 2014, Gable was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020.
Nate Carr is an American former collegiate and international senior level freestyle wrestler. He grew up in a family of 16 children in Erie, Pennsylvania. Five of these, including Nate, would become All-American wrestlers and two, again including Nate, would compete in the Olympic Games. In 2003, Carr was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
Tom Brands is an American former Olympic wrestler and is currently the head coach of the University of Iowa men's wrestling team. He won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Terry Brands is an American Olympic wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, losing the semi-final match to Alireza Dabir. While wrestling at the University of Iowa, Brands won NCAA titles in 1990 and 1992, both at 126 pounds. He was a two-time world freestyle champion at 58 kg, winning titles in 1993 and 1995.
Benjamin Lee "Ben" Peterson is a retired American freestyle wrestler. He competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal, respectively. As a college wrestler, Peterson was a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa State. He founded the "Camp of Champs," which brought in Olympic wrestlers to train with high schoolers. Peterson also coached wrestling at Maranatha Baptist University for 28 years.
Robert Edward Douglas is a retired American freestyle wrestler and coach. He competed as a featherweight at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and placed fourth in 1964. He won a silver and a bronze medal at the 1966 and 1970 world championships, respectively, and retired later in 1970. After that Douglas coached several U.S Olympic teams, is one of only four collegiate coaches to win more than 400 dual meets, and he won an NCAA team national title at Arizona State in 1988. His coaching accomplishments include: 13 NCAA champions, 110 All-America performances, and 68 conference titles.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team is the most successful NCAA Division I athletic program of all time in any sport. As of 2023-24, Oklahoma State wrestling has won 34 team national championships, 143 individual NCAA championships, and 488 All-American honors. The all-time dual record for the program is 1185-140-23.
William "Bill" Weick was an American wrestler and coach.
Kevin Andre Jackson is an American retired freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, and mixed martial artist. Following his competitive career, Jackson would become a wrestling coach.
The history of collegiate wrestling can be traced to the many indigenous styles of folk wrestling found in Europe, particularly in Great Britain. Those folk wrestling styles soon gained popularity in what would become the United States, and by the mid-to-late 19th century those styles, especially freestyle wrestling, emerged in gymnasiums and athletic clubs throughout the country. From then on, tournaments were sponsored and a professional circuit of wrestlers helped promote wrestling in the United States and throughout the world.
Mark Philip Schultz is a former American freestyle wrestler. Schultz was a 3-time NCAA champion, Olympic champion and 2-time World champion. In 1995, Schultz was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. He is also in the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, the California Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the San Mateo Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame.
Edward Joseph "Ed" Banach is an athlete who won a gold medal in wrestling in the 1984 Summer Olympics. He wrestled for the University of Iowa under coach Dan Gable from 1980 to 1983, where he was a four-time NCAA All-American, and a three-time NCAA national champion. He was named the 1983 Big Ten Athlete of the Year.
James Wallace O'Connor was an American competition swimmer and water polo player for Stanford University who played internationally for the United States at four Olympiads: at the 1924, 1928, 1932 and 1936. He won a gold medal in the 1924 Paris Olympics for swimming in the world record setting U.S. 4x200 freestyle relay, and took home a bronze medal for Water Polo in both the 1924 and 1932 Olympics. He is rated by many sports historians as the greatest American Water Polo player of all time.
Randall Scott Lewis is an American wrestler and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he won the gold medal in freestyle wrestling in the featherweight class. In 1998, Lewis was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
The Iowa State Cyclones wrestling team represents Iowa State University (ISU) and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The Cyclones are 8 time National Champions, 17 time National Runners-Up, and have 45 Trophy Finishes. The team is coached by Kevin Dresser. The Cyclones host their home meets at Hilton Coliseum on Iowa State's campus. Iowa State became the second collegiate wrestling program to reach 1,100 dual wins on January 23, 2022.
Leroy (Lee) P. Kemp, Jr. is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. Kemp would achieve success at the high school, collegiate, and international levels.
William Michael Zadick is an American amateur wrestler. He won an NCAA college wrestling championship while competing with the University of Iowa and a gold medal at the 2006 World Wrestling Championships in freestyle wrestling.
Donald Ray "Don" Behm is an American wrestler and coach. He was Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling in 1968.
Joe Williams is an American former freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category. He won ten U.S. national, three consecutive NCAA (1996–1998) and two Pan American Games titles, scored two bronze medals in the 74 and 76-kg division at the World Championships, and finished fifth at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
