Defending The Title: 1940: Those Who Did and Those Who Did Not Defend The Title

 1940 marked yet another year when all of the champions crowned were crowned for the first time. 

1940 Champion 121
Robert Antonacci of Indiana 

Antonacci who was a junior when he won the NCAA title in 1940, failed to place at the 1941 NCAA tournament. 

1940 Champion 128 
Harold Byrd of Oklahoma 

Byrd was a senior when he captured the NCAA title for the Sooners 

1940 Champion 136
Alan Whitehurst of Oklahoma State 

Another Cowboy legend, Whitehurst would again repeat as champion in 1941 to end his collegiate career at Oklahoma State. 

1940 Champion 145
Harold Masem of Lehigh 

Had it not been for a broken hand at the 1939 NCAA championships which saw Masem eventually finish fourth, he might have won a title as a junior too.  Post winning the NCAA title as a senior, Masem moved to Minnesota where he worked as an engineer designing highways and roadways. 

1940 Champion 155
Vernon Logan of Oklahoma State 

Logan was a sophomore when he captured the NCAA title in 1940.  He likely would have joined the elite group of three time NCAA champions had it not been for having to miss his junior season of 1941 with a broken nose. He came back strong in 1942 to win a second title.  A World War II veteran who was awarded a purple heart, he came to Oklahoma State from Tulsa Central. 

1940 Champion 165
Gene Grenard of Colorado State 

Another NCAA champion of the era who did not have the benefit of having a wrestling program in high school, Grenard won the title his senior season.  He later served our country during World War II. 

1940 Champion 175
Don Nichols of Michigan 

Overshadowed by older brother Harold, Don Nichols was a standout wrestler in his own right.  Winning Iowa high school state titles for Cresco in his sophomore and senior seasons, Nichols won the NCAA title for the Wolverines as a senior. 

1940 Champion UNL
George Downes of Ohio State 

Downes was a senior the year he won the NCAA title for the Buckeyes. Having a vast interest in growing fruit, Downes ran his own Orchard for many years where he grew apples, peaches, pears, plums and cherries.