Takedown Report

New Distinguished Members Paulson, Saunders, Adams, Lorenzo headline inspiring 43rd Hall of Fame induction ceremony

BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | JUNE 02, 2019, 
The Class of 2019 from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame:
Jim ‘Doc’ McCloughan, Steve Cannon, Emily Shilson, Brandon Paulson, Townsend Saunders, Dave Errett, David Curby, Cohlton Schultz, Rich Lorenzo, Carl Adams.
STILLWATER, Okla. – The 43rd National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Banquet was an inspiring evening, with four new Distinguished Members inducted, and a full Class of 2019 honorees recognized during ceremonies at the OSU Student Union on Saturday night. The four new Distinguished Members included an impressive mix of wrestling talent and leadership, representing Olympic and World medals, NCAA titles, numerous All-American honors plus extensive success in coaching on many levels of the sport. 1996 Olympic silver medalist and 2001 World silver medalist Brandon Paulson, who was successful on the national and international level at a young age, took time to thank many who helped along the journey. “Thank you to USA Wrestling. I am a product of USA Wrestling. I came up through it. Especially Rich Bender and his family who extended my career, and Steve Fraser. ‘Enjoy the battle’ and “Expect to win’ are not just slogans. Joe Russell, who made me want to be a better man and first got me into Greco. Dan Chandler, the greatest Greco-Roman coach in U.S. history, was my lifelong coach. All my training partners and competitors, they made me strive to be great. That is what I always strive to be, and I wasn’t always, but they helped me get there as much as I could. To Jake Deitchler, who showed me the potential of an athlete, when an athlete is all-in. To Jared Lawrence, my partner at PINnacle, he is the yin to my yang. I love my family and my wrestlers and I would do anything for them,” he said.

In addition to his Olympic and World medal, Paulson also won a 1993 Espoir World silver medal, and was an NCAA All-American for Minnesota. He won USA Wrestling national titles on the Cadet, Junior, Espoir, University and Senior levels. Paulson has made a huge impact as a coach, on the youth level with PINnacle Wrestling School, and at an elite Greco-Roman level with the Minnesota Storm and as a volunteer international coach with USA Wrestling.  A 1996 Olympic silver medalist and two-time Olympian Townsend Saunders, who competed during one of the most successful eras for USA Wrestling, joked about how long it took to be elected to the Hall.  “I get the distinct feeling that I am here a little bit late. A lot of my team members, especially from the United States team, are already inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, including my wife Tricia. I think about that when my spouse asked, ‘What took you so long?” In reality, a lot of my peers have not and will not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. In my opinion, they should be, because of the impact they had on me. I know I could not achieve my goals without them. I will say this. My hope is that my accomplishments and this induction and my interaction with their families will hopefully inspire the next generation of wrestlers and athletes to become the best that they possibly can,” said Saunders. 

In addition to winning his Olympic silver medal in Atlanta in 1996, Saunders placed sixth in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Saunders was a member of the 1993 and 1995 U.S. Freestyle World Teams, which won World Team Titles in Toronto and Atlanta respectively. An NCAA runner-up for Arizona State, and NCAA Div. II national champion at Cal-State Bakersfield, Saunders won titles at the Pan American Games and Goodwill Games. He is part of the first husband-wife pair of Hall of Fame Distinguished Members, as his wife, four-time World champion Tricia Saunders, was the first woman inducted into the Hall back in 2006.  Two-time NCAA champion, long-time Boston University coach and innovative inventor and businessman Carl Adams, gave special recognition to his parents and family, his coaches, his teammates and the wrestlers that he coached. He also expanded his thanks to so many others who helped influence his life.  “After 56 years of involvement in the sport of wrestling, there are so many people I need to thank. There is no way I am going to be able to do it here today. The best way for me to say it is that anyone who has been involved in my wrestling journey, thank you. All of you own a piece of this honor, because without you, I would not be standing here today,” said Adams. Rest of the story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/June/02/Inspiring-Hall-of-Fame-Honors-banquet-recognizes-new-inductees?mc_cid=81bca688f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

June 3, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized