John William Smith is an American folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. Smith was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, and a six-time world level champion with two Olympic Championships and four World Wrestling Championships. Smith is the only American wrestler ever to win six consecutive World and Olympic championships as a competitor. At the end of his competitive career, Smith had won more World and Olympic gold medals in wrestling than any other American. Smith was widely known for his low single leg takedown, and is considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time.
Kenny Dale Monday is an Olympic gold medalist and three-time All-American wrestler from Oklahoma State University. He began wrestling at age six at a YMCA after-school program and grew up idolizing Olympic wrestler Wayne Wells. Monday is a three-time Olympian.
Dale O. Thomas was the head coach of the Oregon State wrestling team at Oregon State University from 1957 to 1990, and is a National Wrestling Hall of Fame member. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He died of kidney and liver failure due to complications from primary sclerosing cholangitis at the age of 81.
Matthew James Lindland, also known as The Law, is an American retired mixed martial artist, Olympic wrestler, speaker, actor, coach, entrepreneur and politician. He won the Oregon Republican Party's nomination for the Oregon House of Representatives, District 52 seat on May 20, 2008. He also started an apparel company named Dirty Boxer. In mixed martial arts, Lindland competed primarily in the Middleweight division for the UFC, Strikeforce. Affliction, the IFL, Cage Rage, the WFA, and BodogFIGHT.
Kerry R. McCoy is an American wrestler and executive director and head coach of the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club regional training center. He competed at the Olympic Games twice and four times at the World Cup Championships. In college he was a three-time NCAA All-American and a two-time NCAA National Champion. He was the head coach of the University of Maryland's wrestling program for eleven years, stepping down in 2019. In 2014, McCoy was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
Stanley Joseph Dziedzic, Jr. is an American former welterweight freestyle wrestler.
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.
Richard Joseph "Rick" Sanders was an American folkstyle and freestyle wrestler. He won gold medals at the 1967 Pan American Games and 1969 World Championships, finishing second at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and 1967 World Championships. After the 1972 Olympics, while traveling to Greece, he was killed in a car accident in Skopje, Yugoslavia. In 1987, Sanders was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
The Boise State Broncos are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Boise State University, located in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW). The Broncos have a successful athletic program overall, winning the WAC commissioner's cup for the 2005–06 and 2009–10 years. Boise State joined the MW on July 1, 2011.
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 San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The Edinboro Fighting Scots are the athletic teams that represent Pennsylvania Western University Edinboro, located in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Fighting Scots are members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) for 15 of 17 varsity sports. The wrestling team competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as a member of NCAA Division I and the wheelchair basketball team competes outside of NCAA governance in the NWBA Intercollegiate Division. The Fighting Scots have been a member of the PSAC since its foundation in 1951.
The Northern Michigan Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, in NCAA intercollegiate sporting competitions. All teams that play under NCAA governance compete at the Division II level, with three exceptions. The most significant one is the men's ice hockey program, which plays at the Division I level. Two other sports, Nordic skiing and women's wrestling, are de facto Division I sports; the NCAA holds a single skiing championship open to members of all three divisions, and does not currently include women's wrestling in its divisional structure. While NMU's skiing program includes both disciplines contested in the NCAA championships, only the Nordic program competes within the NCAA structure.
Jacob Stephen "Jake" Varner is an American wrestler. Varner won the gold medal in the 96 kg category at the 2012 Summer Olympics in freestyle wrestling.
The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling program is an intercollegiate varsity sport at Pennsylvania State University. The wrestling team is a competing member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Nittany Lions compete at Rec Hall in State College, Pennsylvania, on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The Nittany Lions have claimed 13 team National Championship titles and 55 individual NCAA National Championship titles.
Gordon Oscar Wood is an American former wrestler, who competed in the Greco-Roman welterweight category. He was a two-time NCAA All-American for the Oregon State Beavers (1996–1999), and also represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics as a Greco-Roman wrestler. Serving as a staff sergeant of the United States Army in Fort Carson, Colorado, Wood also trained full time for the army's wrestling club.
Rayfield Dupree is an American former track and field athlete, who competed in the men's triple jump at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Elliott Gray Simons is an American former wrestler. He competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics in freestyle wrestling. Simons later served as head coach at Lock Haven, Indiana State, Tennessee and Old Dominion.
Anthony James Ashnault is an American freestyle wrestler, graduated folkstyle wrestler, and assistant wrestling coach at Princeton University. In freestyle, he is a two-time Pan American Champion, having won the titles in 2019 and 2020. In folkstyle, he is an NCAA Division I Champion, four-time All-American and three-time Big Ten Champion. He was also a four-time undefeated NJSIAA title holder as a high schooler.
Gable Dan Steveson is an American professional football player who is a defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He is an Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler and 2 time gold medalist folkstyle wrestler and also had a brief stint in professional wrestling where he was signed to WWE from 2021 to 2024.
