WATERLOO, Iowa—Two of the most dynamic wrestlers in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling will be inducted into the Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum will induct Brandon Paulson and Matt Lindland into the Hall of Champions.
An induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 19, 2013, at the Kennedy Center on the campus of Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minn. This is the fourth induction class.
Alan and Gloria Rice, namesakes of the hall of champions, have been instrumental to the success of Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. Alan Rice was a Big Ten champion and an All-American for the University of Minnesota. In 1956 he won double national titles in Greco-Roman and freestyle. He also placed fifth at the 1956 Olympics and was coach of the 1972 Greco-Roman Olympic team.
He and his wife, Gloria, founded the Minnesota Wrestling Club. Minnesota enjoys the unique distinction of placing a wrestler on every World and Olympic team since 1964, a record unequaled in American wrestling history.
The Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions is located inside the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo.
“This is a special class of inductees,” said Rice. “Each has influenced wrestling in a significant way. I am proud that they will be honored at the Hall of Champions event in October.”
Paulson, a 1992 graduate of Anoka High School in Minnesota, was a three-time state wrestling champion. He attended the University of Minnesota and was an All-American at 118 pounds at the 1996 NCAA tournament. Paulson won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics at 114.5 pounds. He represented the United States at the World Championships in 2001, 2002, and 2003, winning a silver medal in 2001.
Lindland attended Gladstone High School in Gladstone, Oregon. He was a junior college national champion for Clackamas Community College in 1991. Lindland transferred to the University of Nebraska where he was a Big Eight champion in 1993. He went on to win a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics followed by a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships. Lindland currently holds a Mixed Martial Arts record of 22-9.
Paulson and Lindland join Steve Fraser, Jeff Blatnick, Mike Houck, Dennis Hall, Joe Warren, Rulon Gardner, Matt Ghaffari, and Dennis Koslowski in this elite Hall.
J Robinson will be given the Alan Rice Leadership Award for his contributions to advancing the sport of wrestling. Robinson was a member of the 1972 Greco-Roman Olympic team that was coached by Rice. He is currently the head wrestling coach at the University of Minnesota where he led the Golden Gophers to NCAA team wrestling championships in 2001, 2002, and 2007. The 2001 NCAA tournament victory for Minnesota was the first and only time that one team had 10 Division I All-Americans in the same year.
The Short family from Minnesota will receive the Family Legacy Award. The award is given to a family that has excelled in wrestling. Jim and Pat Short had four sons—John, Chris, Will, and Wade—who combined for seven individual state championships at Simley High School. All four had wrestling careers at the University of Minnesota, with Chris and Will earning All-American honors.
Jim was the head wrestling coach at Simley from 1970 through 1998 where his team won the Minnesota state wrestling tournament in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1992. Will took over for his father in 1998 and coached until 2008. Jim coached the team again in 2009 and was co-head coach with Will in 2010 and 2011. Will took over sole coaching duties for the 2012 season.
Jim and Will combined to coach Simley to nine state team titles (five for Jim, two for Will, and two for Jim and Will as co-head coaches). Jim’s wife, Pat, mother to the four champions, is also heavily involved in wrestling. As a volunteer she has worked many major tournaments including the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games as a pairer and director.
Contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745or dgmstaff@nwhof.org for more information on the Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions.
Kyle Klingman
National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum
National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum
303 Jefferson St.
Waterloo, IA 50701
Phone: (319) 233-0745
FAX: (319) 233-3477
