US Wrestlers

Wrestling has been a part of native American culture even before the English and French settlers arrived, but once they did wrestling spread like a wildfire. The wrestling style popular back then was mainly Greco-Roman. Over the years American wrestling lost a lot of its originally classic formality and became catch-as-catch-can, now known as folk style wrestling. It became one of the main attractions on local festivals and fairs. Folk style is quite similar to freestyle wrestling because its rules permit the wrestler to attack the legs of his opponent; but the main differences between these two styles are the gear, certain techniques, and points. With wrestling having such a rich tradition in the U.S., America has excelled in the world competitions; it is currently the number 2 in the Olympic wrestling medal count of all-time.

Folk style wrestling is very popular in high schools and colleges throughout the U.S. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the organization that sets the rules and regulates collegiate wrestling. Its rules and regulations are followed by all three divisions (division 1 being the strongest). Other associations have also adopted the regulations with minor changes, such as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA).

Currently there are 10 weight classes in college: 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, and 285; high school has 13 weight classes: 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195 and 285; and middle school also has 13 weight classes: 78, 86, 93, 103 110, 117, 124, 134, 142, 152, 165, 185, and 275.

The most honored and best known schools for wrestling are The Iowa Hawkeyes (University of Iowa) wrestling team, the Oklahoma State Cowboys (Oklahoma State University) wrestling team, the Iowa State Cyclones (Iowa State University) wrestling team, and the Oklahoma Sooners (University of Oklahoma) wrestling teams. These are also the four teams who won the majority of NCAA wrestling team championships.

The sport of wrestling has come a long way in the U.S. thanks to the legends in the sport who helped keep the tradition alive, inspired young athletes to continue wrestling, and kept US a powerhouse at wrestling on the world level. Some of US wrestling's greatest legends were:

Dan Gable (1972 Olympic Gold Medalist),
Cael Sanderson (2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, 4X NCAA Champion),
Rulon Gardner (2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, and 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist),
Robert Curry (1904 Olympic Gold Medalist),
John Smith (1988, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist, 4X World Champion),
Josh Duncan (1904, 1908 Olympic Gold Medalist, first American gold medalist)

These great US wrestlers have contributed to the ever-growing popularity of wrestling in the US throughout their careers. Many continued their commitment to wrestling even after retiring from competition by coaching and writing books; several became motivational speakers. (Read about Henry Cejudo, the incredible US Wrestler and Dan Gable, US Wrestling Legend.)

With all that said, wrestling is more than a fad and - dare I say - more than a sport. It helps to instill discipline, develops leadership skills and builds character. (Read about wrestlers who became US politicians.)

I'm dedicating this Website to accomplished and striving US Wrestlers: US Best Wrestlers of All Time;

Wrestlers who have impacted - and are impacting - US History; Promising Young US Wrestlers (just wait till you see the wrestling videos!) and of course, My Love of Wrestling.

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