Anoka is a city in and the county seat of Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 17,142 at the 2010 census. Anoka is the "Halloween Capital of the World" because it hosted one of the first Halloween parades in 1920. It continues to celebrate the holiday each year with several parades. Anoka is a northern suburb of the Twin Cities. U.S. Highways 10 / 169 and State Highway 47 are three of Anoka's main routes, and it has a station on the Northstar Commuter Rail line to Minneapolis.
Greco-Roman, Graeco-Roman, classic wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1904. This style of wrestling forbids holds below the waist, which is the main feature that differentiates it from freestyle wrestling. This restriction results in an emphasis on throws, because a wrestler cannot use trips to bring an opponent to the ground or hook/grab the opponent's leg to avoid being thrown.
Rulon Ellis Gardner is an American retired Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games, defeating Russia's three-time reigning Olympic gold medalist Aleksandr Karelin in the final; Karelin was previously unbeaten for 13 years in international competition. Gardner won a bronze medal at the 2004 Games. In 2010, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a distinguished member.
Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. USA high school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling are conducted under different rules and termed scholastic and collegiate wrestling. USA collegiate women's wrestling is conducted under freestyle rules.
Armen Nazaryan is an Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler who later represented Bulgaria. Nazaryan is a two-time Olympic Champion, a three-time World Champion, and a six-time European Champion. After Armenia regained independence in 1991, Nazaryan became the first Olympic gold medalist for the country. He was recognized by the FILA as the best wrestler of the year in 1998 and 2003. In 2007, Nazaryan was inducted as a member of the FILA Hall of Fame.
Dustin Schlatter is an American former folkstyle wrestler. He won the 2006 NCAA wrestling title and was a three-time NCAA All-American at 149 pounds for the University of Minnesota. As a high school wrestler, Schlatter was a NHSCA Senior national title, USA Wrestling Junior and Cadet national titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, and was a four-time Ohio high school state champion.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling program is an intercollegiate varsity sport at the University of Minnesota. They are a member of the Big Ten Conference and NCAA. Wrestling began at Minnesota in 1910, but the first formal dual meet was not until 1921 when coach Frank Gilman led the team to a victory over Wisconsin. The Gophers have won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships team title three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2007.
Cole Konrad is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter. Konrad won a gold medal at the 2005 Pan-American Championships. He won the NCAA wrestling championships in 2006 and 2007 at 285 pounds and finished third at the 2006 World University Championships at 120 kilograms. He was the first Bellator Heavyweight World Champion.
Anoka High School is a four-year public high school located in Anoka, Minnesota, United States. It serves grades 9–12 for the Anoka-Hennepin School District 11.
Brandon Douglas Paulson is a former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler and current wrestling coach. Paulson was born in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and is a 1992 graduate of Anoka High School. At Anoka High, Paulson was a three time state champion in his weight class and was named Mr. Minnesota Wrestling in his senior year after finishing with a career record of 155-12-1. Paulson was the first high school wrestler to earn a spot on the U.S. National Senior team when he qualified for the 1991–1992 team. In 1993 he was a Junior World Silver Medalist. Overall, he earned 16 national titles in Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling, and was a 1996 Olympic silver medalist in the 114.5 lbs weight class in Greco-Roman wrestling.
Kyle Douglas Dake is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes at 74 kilograms. Dake is a four-time and the reigning World Champion, winning back-to-back titles twice, at 79 kilos in 2018 and 2019 and 74 kilos in 2021 and 2022. He claimed a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo. During his first World Championship tournament, Dake outscored his opposition 37 points to zero, not surrendering a single point.
Kyle Frederick Snyder is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 97 kilograms. He holds the distinctions of being the youngest Olympic Gold medalist and the youngest World Champion in American wrestling history.
Gordon Oscar Wood is an amateur American 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. 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.
James Matthew Gruenwald is a retired amateur American Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's lightweight category. He won three U.S. national titles, picked up a bronze medal in the 60-kg division at the 2003 Pan American Games, and represented the United States in two editions of the Olympic Games, finishing sixth in Sydney and tenth in Athens respectively. Since his sporting career ended in late 2004, Gruenwald served as an assistant coach for the Greco-Roman wrestling team at the United States Olympic Training Center in Marquette, Michigan from 2005 - 2009, and currently, heads the Wheaton College wrestling program in Illinois.
J'den Michael Tbory Cox is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 92 kilograms. In freestyle, Cox is a two-time World Champion at 92 kilos, and while competing at 86 kilos, he claimed a bronze medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics and a 2017 World Championship bronze medal. During college, Cox wrestled for the Missouri Tigers, and was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and four-time Mid-American Conference champion, becoming one of the most accomplished Tigers in the program's history.
Tuomo Arto Mikael Karila is a Finnish former Olympic wrestler. He was born in Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland. His nickname is Tuoppi.
Marty Morgan is a former American wrestler. He was the 1991 NCAA National Champion and a 3-time All-American in college.
Mark John Hall II is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes at 86 kilograms. As a folkstyle wrestler, Hall was an NCAA Division I National champion and a three-time Big Ten Conference champion out of the Pennsylvania State University. As a freestyle wrestler, Hall was the 2021 US Open National champion, 2018 Pan American Continental champion, a two–time Junior World Champion and a Cadet World Champion.
Gable Dan Steveson is an American professional wrestler, freestyle wrestler, and folkstyle wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, the second Olympic wrestling gold medalist to be signed by the company, after Kurt Angle.
Aaron Brooks is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes internationally at 86 kilograms and collegiately at 184 pounds. In freestyle, he is a Cadet World Champion and Junior World Championship silver medalist. As a collegiate wrestler, Brooks is a three-time NCAA champion and a three-time B1G Conference champion out of the Pennsylvania State University. As of May 25, 2022, Brooks is the top-ranked 184-pound NCAA wrestler in the country as per Intermat.
