Nick Simmons (wrestler)

Last updated
Nick Simmons
Personal information
Born (1982-10-25) October 25, 1982 (age 40)
Clear Lake, Texas, U.S.
Home town Williamston, Michigan, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
Sport Wrestling
Event(s) Freestyle and Folkstyle
College team Michigan State
TeamUSA
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Pan American Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2004 Guatemala City55 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Michigan State Spartans
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2007 Auburn Hills133 lb
Big Ten Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2003 Madison125 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2005 Iowa City125 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2006 Bloomington125 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2007 East Lansing133 lb

Nick Simmons (born October 25, 1982) [1] is an American former wrestler, who represented the United States at the 2011 World Wrestling Championships. Simmons was known as the "East Lansing Strangler" for his ability to pin at a high rate, partially due to his above-average height for a wrestler at his weight. [2]

Contents

High school

Simmons attended Williamston High School in Williamston, Michigan from 1998 to 2001. Simmons was one of the most successful high school wrestlers in Michigan history, finishing his prep career 211-0 with 178 pins, including 54 consecutive pins in his sophomore year. His performance in 1999 earned him the Junior Schalles Award for top high school pinner. [3] Williamston also won team state championships in Simmons' sophomore and junior years.

College

At Michigan State University, Simmons was a four-time NCAA All-American and three-time Big Ten Champion. At the NCAA Tournament he finishing third in 2007, fourth in both 2006 & 2005, and seventh in 2003. Simmons was second All-time in wins at Michigan State, with 138 wins, and first All-time in pins, with 46. [4]

International

Simmons took an Olympic redshirt during the 2003–2004 school year, winning the Pan American Championships. In 2005, Simmons competed in the University World Games, finishing in 5th place after losing in the bronze medal match. Simmons continued to make U.S. National Teams (top 3 at the World Team Trials) for most of the next decade, including making the U.S. Freestyle World Team in 2011. At the 2011 World Wrestling Championships, Simmons took 5th place, going 4-2, with losses to eventual silver medalist Radoslav Velikov and bronze medalist Hassan Rahimi. Simmons competed for but failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, placing second at the U.S. Olympic Team trials. [5]

Related Research Articles

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). He is the only wrestler in NCAA Division I history to go undefeated in official matches with more than 100 wins. Sports Illustrated named his college career as the second most impressive college sports feat of all-time, behind the setting of four world records by Jesse Owens in a single hour at the 1935 Big Ten track and field conference championship meet.

Chris Pendleton is a former American wrestler who competed collegiately for Oklahoma State University. Pendleton won NCAA Division I wrestling titles at 174 pounds in 2004 and 2005 and was a three-time All-American.

Established in 1999, both Schalles awards, one for the best collegiate pinner in America and the other, for the best scholastic pinner, are annually presented by WIN Magazine, Cliff Keen Athletics and the NWCA. The award is named after Wade Schalles, one of American wrestling's most storied pinners and a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. During his collegiate career (1970-1974) Schalles set the NCAA record at 109 pins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Snyder (wrestler)</span> American freestyle wrestler (born 1995)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Taylor (wrestler, born 1990)</span> American wrestler

David Morris Taylor III is an American freestyle and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes at 86 kilograms. In 2021, Taylor became the 2020 Olympic gold medalist after defeating reigning Olympic and World Champion Hassan Yazdani, a feat he repeated from the 2018 World Championship where he stormed his way to the title. He later became the 2021 World Championship runner-up, after being defeated by Yazdani. Then, at the 2022 World Championships, he avenged that loss by defeating Yazdani once again to reclaim his world title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Gilman</span> American freestyle wrestler

Thomas Patrick Gilman is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, Gilman is a 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and the 2021 World Champion and Pan American Continental champion. In folkstyle, Gilman was a three-time NCAA Division I All-American, the 2016 NCAA national runner-up, and a Big Ten Conference champion out of the University of Iowa.

Nickolos Edward Gwiazdowski is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler. A two-time NCAA Division I National Champion for the North Carolina State Wolfpack, Gwiazdowski has won two bronze medals at the World Championships, a Pan American Games title, and two Pan American championships for Team USA.

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.

Spencer Richard Lee (born October 14, 1998) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, he won the US National championship in 2019 and was a three-time age-group world champion, once at the cadet level and twice at the junior level. As a folkstyle wrestler, Lee won the James E. Sullivan Award and the Dan Hodge Trophy twice, as well as three NCAA Division I national championships out of the University of Iowa. Lee was often considered one of the most dominant athletes in college athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bo Nickal</span> American wrestler and mixed martial artist

Bo Nickal is an American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes in the UFC middleweight division. In freestyle wrestling, he claimed the 2019 U23 World Championship and the US Open National championship, and was a finalist at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials and a Final X contestant in 2019. As a collegiate wrestler, Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I National Champion and a three-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Pennsylvania State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Coon</span> American football player and wrestler

Adam Jacob Coon is an American heavyweight wrestler and professional football player, playing offensive guard for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, notable for not having played football in college. Before pro football, Coon was an accomplished wrestler at the state, national, and international levels. He was a 2011 Cadet World freestyle gold medalist, 2014 Junior World double bronze medalist in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, two-time NCAA Division I finalist, 2018 Senior World silver medalist in Greco-Roman, and a Pan American gold medalist in 2019 and silver medalist in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zain Retherford</span> American wrestler

Zain Allen Retherford is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms. In freestyle, Retherford is a three-time US World Team Member. He was a silver medalist at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships, earning his first World medal at the highest level of the World Championships. Additionally, he helped Team USA reach third-place at the 2019 World Cup, going undefeated at 4–0, and winning the individual 2019 World Cup title. Retherford was also the 2012 Cadet World Champion at 63kg as a freestyle wrestler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Suriano</span> American wrestler

Nicholas Raymond Suriano is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, he claimed the 2021 Henri Deglane Grand Prix gold medal and the 2021 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series silver medal. As a folkstyle wrestler, Suriano was the 2022 NCAA Division I national and Big Ten Conference champion at 125 pounds for the Michigan Wolverines, repeating what he accomplished in 2019 at 133 pounds at Rutgers University, where he also was an NCAA finalist in 2018.

Jordan Michael Oliver is an American freestyle, graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms and professional mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division of Bellator MMA. In freestyle, he was a 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Member, but failed to qualify internationally after falling in the semifinals of the 2021 World Olympic Qualification Tournament. He was also the 2019 U.S. national champion. As a folkstyle wrestler, Oliver was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, three-time finalist, and four-time Big 12 Conference champion at Oklahoma State.

Zahid Valencia is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion and three-time Pac-12 Conference champion out of Arizona State University. In freestyle, he was the 2019 US national champion and has competed at multiple international tournaments, winning gold at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 and 2021 Poland Open and bronze at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gable Steveson</span> American professional and freestyle wrestler

Gable Dan Steveson is an American professional wrestler, freestyle wrestler and folkstyle wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he currently performs on the NXT brand. He is the second Olympic wrestling gold medalist to be signed by the WWE, after Kurt Angle.

Alec William Pantaleo is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 70 kilograms. In freestyle, he is the defending U.S. Open champion, was the 2021 Pan American Continental champion, claimed the 2021 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series and the 2021 Poland Open titles, earned silver and bronze medals at the U.S. Open, and was a 2019 U23 U.S. team member. As a folkstyle wrestler, Pantaleo was a three-time NCAA DI All-American and a Big Ten Conference champion out of the University of Michigan.

Kollin Raymond Moore is an American freestyler wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 97 kilograms. In freestyle, he won the '21 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series title, defeating Iran's Alireza Karimi in the final, is the reigning US National Champion and was also the '18 U23 World Championship and '19 US National Championship runner-up. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American, three-time Big Ten Conference champion and the '20 Dan Hodge Trophy runner-up for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabe Dean</span> American wrestler

Gabriel Curtis Dean is an American retired freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who formerly competed at 86 kilograms. In freestyle, he was the 2020 US National Champion, a '17 Pan American Championship medalist, and a '14 Junior World Championship medalist. He was also the '15 Pan American Championship runner–up in Greco-Roman. As a collegiate wrestler, Dean was a two–time NCAA Division I champion, a four–time EIWA Conference champion, and a four–time NCAA Division I All-American for the Cornell Big Red.

Masson Parris is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 125 kilograms. In freestyle, he claimed the 2019 World Junior Wrestling Championships gold medal. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was the 2023 NCAA Division I national and Big Ten Conference champion at 285 pounds for the Michigan Wolverines, and the Dan Hodge Trophy winner.

References

  1. ↑ "Nick Simmons Bio :: Michigan State :: Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  2. ↑ "Who were the Unique Award Winners of the past year?". 18 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Junior Schalles Award". WIN Magazine. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  4. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/RecordBook.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. ↑ "Former Spartan Nick Simmons Finishes Second at Olympic Trials". 22 April 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.