Defending The Title: 1975: Those Who Did and Those Who Did Not Defend the Title

 Another one of those rare years where all 10 champions crowned, were crowned for the first time. 

1975 Champion 118
Shawn Garel of Oklahoma 

A two time State champion out of Shaw High school in Ohio, Garel looked to be destined for greatness as he won the NCAA title as a freshman.   The next season he once again earned the #1 seed at the NCAA tournament but he failed to make weight in the quarterfinals and had to forfeit out of the tournament. He was dismissed from the wrestling team and slipped into the obscurity of what could have been. 

1975 Champion 126
John Fritz of Penn State 

After finishing 3rd two years in a row, Fritz capped off his time as a Nittany Lion with a national title in 1975.  He later coached at Franklin & Marshall, Indiana of Pennsylvania, Colorado and Penn State. 

1975 Champion 134
Mike Frick of Lehigh 

A standout for the Mountain Hawks, Frick was a three time EIWA champion who after placing 4th at the NCAA's as a sophomore in 1974 went on to win two NCAA titles in 1975 and 1976.  His son Travis later became a two time All American for the Mountain Hawks himself. 

1975 Champion 142
Jim Bennett of Yale 

A three time state champion in Pole Vault, the sport of wrestling is lucky that we got him on the mat, because he could have as easily wound up on the track.  Winning the national title in 1975 as a junior, Bennett would finish 4th in the nation as a senior in 1976.  Later a coach at Harvard, his wife was on the United States Olympic Cycling team.  To this day, Bennett has been adamant in his efforts to get Bulldog varsity wrestling reinstated. 

1975 Champion 150
Chuck Yagla of Iowa 

As good as Yagla ended up being in college, one finds himself going back and triple checking just to make sure that the fact that he never won a state title is indeed a fact.  Competing for Waterloo Columbus, Yagla was a state runner-up his senior season.  Wrestling for the Hawkeyes, Yagla was 4th in the nation as a sophomore in 1974 before winning back to back NCAA titles in 1975 and 1976.  Post college he went on to win three Midlands titles as he then became one of the most recognized and respected officials in NCAA wrestling. 

1975 Champion 158 
Dan Holm of Iowa 

An Illinois state champion for Libertyville High school, Holm is one of those NCAA champions that never won a BIG 10 title.  He was 4th-3rd-2nd-2nd in the BIG 10.  Finishing 3rd at the 1973 and 1974 NCAA championships, Holm won the NCAA title as a senior in 1975.  He later coached at Illinois. 

1975 Champion 167
Ron Ray of Oklahoma State 

After finishing in fifth place at the Illinois state tournament as a senior, Ron Ray was not heavily sought after as a recruit.  He took a little more time to develop.  Entering Wilbur Wright Junior College, Ray won back to back NJCAA titles in 1972 and 1973 catching the eye of Oklahoma State. Competing for the Cowboys he was 6th in the nation in 1974, ending his career as NCAA champion in 1975. 

1975 Champion 177
Mike Lieberman of Lehigh 

If you're looking for a story of a guy that just plum refused to give up on himself, look no further than Mike Lieberman of Lehigh.  He didn't even qualify for the NCAA's as a freshman. Then as a sophomore, he wasn't even the varsity starter at the EIWA championships.  In between his sophomore and junior seasons, some major improvements were made. In 1975 he won the EIWA title.  Then down 4-0 vs Iowa's Chris Campbell in the NCAA finals with less than a minute to go, he shot in and nailed a five point move to win 5-4 right as the seconds ticked off the clock.  Winning another EIWA title in 1976, he finished 3rd at the NCAA's. 

1975 Champion 191
Al Nacin of Iowa State 

The originally plan for the 1970 Illinois State champion out of Reavis High school was to redshirt in 1971.  Yet early into the season, a teammate suffered a season ending injury and Nacin found himself the varsity starter. He proved himself worthy in the cardinal and gold, making the NCAA finals as a true freshman.  Redshirting in 1972, Nacin came back to place 5th and 3rd at the NCAA championships before capping off his career as NCAA champion in 1975.  He earned 109 victories during his time as a Cyclone. 

1975 Champion UNL
Larry Bielenberg of Oregon State 

One of the Beavers four time All Americans, Bilenberg's NCAA title came in his sophomore season of 1975.  He finished 5th in 1974, 3rd in 1976 and 2nd in 1977.   In the year he finished 2nd, he went 51-1, which was the most wins of any ever in NCAA wrestling in a single season at that time.  Overall he won 168 matches. 95 of them were by fall. 

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Garel, Bennett, Lieberman & Bielenberg did not repeat

Frick and Yagla repeated

Fritz, Holm, Ray and Nacin were all seniors