| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | January 7, 1987 Binghamton, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle and Folkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Cornell | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Troy Nickerson (born January 7, 1987) is a former wrestler and NCAA champion out of Cornell University. He is the current head wrestling coach at the University of Northern Colorado.
Nickerson attended Chenango Forks High School in Chenango Forks, New York. At Chenango Forks, Nickerson became the first five-time high school state champion of New York State and amassed a record of 217-6, while winning several Junior National championships. Intermat wrestling named him the ninth best high school wrestler for the entire 20-year period ending in 2005. Nickerson was also named the Junior Hodge Trophy winner in 2005. [1] At the Fargo tournament, a national championship tournament in the U.S. for freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, he captured five titles in six tries.
After graduating from high school Nickerson attended Cornell University, where he won three EIWA wrestling titles and was a rare four-time NCAA All-American. In his junior year, Nickerson won the 2009 NCAA wrestling title at 125 pounds. He finished 2nd as a true freshman, 3rd as a sophomore, and 4th as a senior with a total career record of 97-8. He served as captain during his senior year and was also a member of the Quill and Dagger society.
In September 2010, Nickerson accepted a position as an assistant coach for the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club of New York, which focuses on promoting all levels of wrestling in New York State.
In 2011 and 2012, Nickerson competed in freestyle wrestling on the senior level, with his goal of making the U.S. Olympic team. He would not make the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trails and afterwards would turn his full attention to coaching. In 2012, he was hired as an assistant coach at Iowa State. In 2014, Nickerson was named head coach of the University of Northern Colorado wrestling program.
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).
David Lesley Schultz was an American Olympic and World champion freestyle wrestler, and a seven-time World and Olympic medalist. He coached individuals and teams at the college level and also privately.
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.
Teyon Ware is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. Competing for the Oklahoma Sooners, Ware won NCAA Division I wrestling titles at 141 pounds in 2003 and 2005. Ware is a 4-time All-American, former Big 12 Conference champion, and U.S. World Team member that competed at the 2011 World Wrestling Championships.
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.
Larry Lee "Zeke" Jones is an American wrestler who won a silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, a world championship in Varna, Bulgaria, in 1991, and was the former freestyle head coach at USA Wrestling. He is currently the head coach of the Arizona State University Wrestling team as of April, 2014. He was a six-time national freestyle champion, four-time World Cup champion, Pan American Games champion, and received the "World's Most Technical Wrestler Award" awarded by FILA, the international governing body for the sport. In college, he was a three-time All-American for Arizona State University and competed on the 1988 NCAA Championship team, coached by famed Bobby Douglas. After college, he wrestled on two world championships teams with the United States wrestling team. In 2005, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
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.
Leslie Lyle Gutches is an American former wrestler and coach. His accomplishments include becoming a World Champion in freestyle wrestling at the 1997 World Wrestling Championships, the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's best college wrestler in 1996, becoming the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion in the 177 lb. weight division in both 1995 and 1996, earning All-American status in 1994, 1995 & 1996, becoming a member of the 1996 United States Olympics freestyle wrestling team and winning numerous other tournaments and honors.
Brent Metcalf is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. Metcalf was a three-time member of the US World Team and two-time NCAA wrestling champion at the University of Iowa.
The Cornell Big Red wrestling team represents Cornell University of Ithaca, New York in collegiate wrestling. It is one of the most successful and storied collegiate wrestling programs in the nation with over 20 individual NCAA champions, 43 Ivy League championships, and 28 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships since the program's 1907 founding.
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.
Logan Stieber is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, who competed internationally at 61 and 65 kilograms. In the Olympic year of 2016, he won the non-Olympic weight World Championship at 61 kg, and in 2018, he won a Pan American title.
David Morris Taylor III is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 92 kilograms. He is the current head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
J'den Michael Tbory Cox is an American retired freestyle wrestler and folkstyle wrestler who competed at 92 kilograms. In freestyle, Cox was 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.
Spencer Richard Lee (born October 14, 1998) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, he earned a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, and is a two-time US National champion and three-time age-group world champion.
John Michael "Yianni" Diakomihalis is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms and 149 pounds. In freestyle, he is the 2022 World silver medalist, a two-time US World Team member, the 2020 Pan American champion, the 2019 US Open national champion, and a two-time age-group World champion. As a collegiate wrestler, Diakomihalis was a four-time NCAA Division I champion and four-time EIWA champion out of Cornell University.
Mark John Hall II is an American former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competed 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.
Zain Allen Retherford is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 70 kilograms. In freestyle, he is a gold and silver medalist at the World Championships, as well as a Pan-American champion.
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.
Gable Dan Steveson is an American Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler, two-time gold medalist folkstyle wrestler, and professional football player. He went to college at Minnesota.
