Gone, Lost & Forgotten: Their Best = Biola

Winners of the 1985 National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA), the wrestling program was then eliminated after the 1985-1986 season.  Up until the 2018-2019 season when men's golf was eliminated, wrestling was the only sport that the Eagles had ever discontinued.   Today Biola is transitioning to NCAA status but at the time they had a wrestling program they were NAIA. 

Mike Fisher
177 lbs 

Fisher was an NAIA finalist for the Eagles in 1969. 

Chris Davis
126 lbs 

Also a member of the Eagles Cross Country & Track teams, Davis took fourth place at the 1971 NAIA championships.   

Post his collegiate career, Davis went on to coach wrestling, track, cross country & women's soccer at Baptist Bible College. 

Jarrett Williams
142 lbs  

A graduate of Lynwood High school, Williams took fourth place All American honors at the 1972 NAIA championships. 

Richard Hays
177 lbs 

Hays was an NAIA finalist in 1972. 

Paul Wilson 

Wilson put together a career record of 114-24 winning NCCAA titles for the Eagles in 1979 & 1980.  His son Jim wrestled for Stanford where he became the first in Cardinal history to win three PAC-12 titles. 

Jim Blagg
177, 190 lbs 

Ironically enough Jim Blagg also went 114-24 during his collegiate career.  Taking sixth place NAIA All American honors in 1977, he became the school's first NAIA National champion in 1978.   To this day he is the only athlete in all of Eagle sports to win an NAIA title. 

Pat Sheridan
134, 126 lbs  

Coming to Biola all the way from Johnston High school in Iowa, Sheridan earned NAIA All American status during his final three years of competition.  He was third in 1979, fourth in 1980 & fifth in 1981. 

Tony Ippolito
134, 167 lbs 

Ippolitio traveled all the way across the country to attend Biola after winning a Florida high school state championship for Brandon High school in 1977.    After making the NAIA finals in 1981, Ippolito moved up quite a few weight classes to finish in eighth placed in 1982. 

Post college, Ippolito coached at Downey high school.  His son Mark as a child was in various national commercials including those for Burger King & Dunkin Donuts.   Today Mark is coach at Big Valley Christian High school. 

Adrian Rodriguez 
126 lbs 

Rodriguez took third place All American honors at the 1985 NAIA championships.