09/09/2026
The Nittany Lion Wrestling club continues to thrive. Whether is it from U20 to the senior level and now with RAF, these legends keep improving and excelling. It is awesome to see.
It will be exciting to see who wins the Olympic Trials less than two years from now and gets to compete in the LA2028 Olympic Games.
I was one of the first beneficiaries of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. When I was in college, we have John Orr, Lou Banach, Rich Salamone and others in our wrestling room training with us, while they did great school too. We also have Olympic Champions Mitsuro Sato and Hidaki Tomiyama join us for a semester to train.
It was truly and amazing situation. Now today, it is exponentially better with the wrestling room loaded with icons. The NLWC sent me and Jim Martin to Korea and Japan for a month of training in 1987. The next year, Jim won an NCAA Championship and I represented our nation in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Memories of a lifetime!
I am the first Penn State graduate to make the USA Olympic Wrestling Team. It is a moment in time that I am still proud of. Only 5 other Penn State graduates have made our USA Olympic Team. Though NLWC is obviously thriving, some of the legends are move ins like Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder. Can you name the other 5 Penn State graduates who have made our USA Olympic Team?! Who do you think will be next in LA two years from now?
