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.
Mark Coleman is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fighting Championships 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix champion. At UFC 82 Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Steve Mocco is an American former amateur wrestler, judoka and mixed martial artist. As a collegiate wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA national champion, four-time finalist, and was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy. In freestyle, he represented the US at the Olympics and was a three-time Pan American Champion. As an MMA fighter, he most notably competed at the WSOF. He is currently a coach at both combat sports, being one of the main coaches at MMA powerhouse American Top Team and an assistant wrestling coach at Lehigh University.
Ben Askren is an American former professional mixed martial artist, professional boxer and Olympic wrestler.
Townsend Saunders is an Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling. Collegiately, Saunders was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American at Arizona State University and an NCAA Division II National Champion for California State University-Bakersfield. Townsend was also a Goodwill Games gold medalist in 1994 and won two Pan American Games gold medals in 1991 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.
The University of Iowa men's wrestling program is one of the most successful NCAA Division I athletic programs. The Hawkeyes are 37 time Big Ten Conference champions and second in NCAA history with 24 National Championships.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team is the most successful NCAA Division I athletic program of all time in any sport. As of 2021–2022, Oklahoma State wrestling has won 34 team national championships, 143 individual NCAA championships, and 485 All-American honors.
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.
Royce Alger is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler and retired mixed martial artist. An athlete of wrestling icon Dan Gable, he went on to become a three-time All-American, three-time Big Ten champion, and two-time NCAA National Champion at the 167 and 177 pound weight classes in 1987 and 1988, at the University of Iowa. After going undefeated in his final 78 matches, Alger spent seven years as an assistant wrestling coach with his alma mater. He was also a World silver medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 1990 World Wrestling Championships.
Daniel Ryan Cormier is an American former professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestler, and current commentator for the UFC. As a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion, Cormier is the second fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously and is the first fighter to have title defenses in two divisions. As an international wrestler, Cormier was a six-time US World or Olympic Team Member, a World bronze medalist, a World Cup runner-up, a 2003 Pan American Games gold medalist, and a two-time Pan American champion. In folkstyle wrestling, Cormier was an NCAA Division I national finalist and two-time Big 12 Conference runner-up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He was also a two-time NJCAA champion.
Henry Carlos Cejudo is an American professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. Cejudo is the fourth UFC fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously, and the second to defend titles in two different weight divisions. He is considered to be among the greatest combat athletes of all time due to his accomplishments in MMA and freestyle wrestling, earning him the nickname "Triple C."
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.
Edward Lee Ruth is an American former professional mixed martial artist and freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. He competed in the Middleweight division of Bellator MMA. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion.
Kyven Ross Gadson is an American amateur wrestler. Currently a senior competitor in amateur freestyle wrestling, earlier Gadson, while wrestling for the Iowa State Cyclones, was a three-time All-American in NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling and won the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in the 197-lb weight class by pinning future Olympic and World Championship gold medalist Kyle Snyder in his final collegiate match.
David Zabriskie is a retired American amateur wrestler and current wrestling coach for Elevation Fight Team in Denver. Zabriskie wrestled for the Iowa State Cyclones and is a three-time Big 12 Conference champion, three-time All-American in NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling, and won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in the 285lb weight class in 2010.
David Aaron Carr (born March 28, 1999) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 165 pounds. In freestyle, Carr is a U20 World Champion and U17 World bronze medalist.
James Patrick Downey III is an American submission grappler, freestyle wrestler, and professional mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division. As an amateur wrestler, Downey competed at 86 kilograms and was a 2019 Pan American Games medalist and the 2019 US Open National champion. In college, he was an NCAA Division I All-American in 2016 for the Iowa State Cyclones and an NJCAA champion for Iowa Central Community College.
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.
