Takedown Report

National Wrestling Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2022

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday that the Class of 2022 is Distinguished Members Clarissa Chun, Sara McMann, Andy Rein and Jake Varner, Meritorious Official Tom Clark (posthumously), Order of Merit Recipient Mike Moyer, and Medal of Courage recipient Melissa Simmons. 

“Following an extensive screening and selection process, I am excited to announce such a notable and deserving group of honorees for 2022,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “We are fortunate to be able to spotlight these inductees who have transcended our sport’s heritage over the past 40 years. It is also a class that represents the positive transformational impact females are realizing in wrestling, with two female Distinguished Members and our first female Medal of Courage recipient.”

The Hall of Fame Board of Governors approved the selections at their meeting in Waterloo, Iowa on October 25. 

The Hall of Fame will announce its Outstanding American honoree at a later date.

The induction ceremony will be held at the 45th Honors Weekend on June 3-4, 2022 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information on Honors Weekend, please telephone (405) 377-5243.

Chun, McMann and Varner were chosen as Distinguished Members for the Modern Era while Rein was selected by the Veterans Committee. The newest honorees will bring the number of Distinguished Members to 204, since the Hall of Fame began in 1976.

It is the first time that more than one female Distinguished Member has been selected and Chun and McMann become the third and fourth female Distinguished Members, joining Tricia Saunders (2006) and Kristie Davis (2018).

Simmons is the first female selected to receive the Medal of Courage while three females being honored equals the largest number of females in a single year. The Class of 1998 included Sandy Stevens receiving the Order of Merit and Sue Siar and Sally Stanford being honored as Meritorious Officials.

Rein becomes the 10th and final member of the 1984 United States Olympic freestyle team to be honored as a Distinguished Member, making it the only Olympic team to have every team member recognized. Other team members were Ed Banach (1993), Lou Banach (1994), Bruce Baumgartner (2002), Barry Davis (2007), Joe Gonzales (2015), Randy Lewis (1998), Dave Schultz (1997), Mark Schultz (1995), and Bobby Weaver (2008). It is the only Olympic team where every member has been recognized as a Distinguished Member. Every member of the coaching staff from 1984 is also a Distinguished Member with head coach Dan Gable (1980) and assistant coaches Bobby Douglas (1987), Stan Dziedzic (1996), J Robinson (2005) and Bill Weick (2007). … rest of story at https://nwhof.org/news/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame-announces-class-of-2022?mc_cid=f82814b7a7&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

November 27, 2021 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment