Lindenwood discontinued wrestling and a bunch of other athletics programs. I may not know the whole story or "everything" as they often like to put it, not knowing "everything" themselves or knowing "everything" but not willing to disclose in a whole truth, nothing but the truth manner. What I do know is that Lindenwood wrestling was rich with credential and accomplishment. The Lion wrestling program deserves to be remembered and celebrated. That's what I know and that's what I'm going to do my best to try and accomplish right now.
As a team, Lindenwood ruled the roost in the NAIA. Titles won in 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009, the Lions finished at the team runner-up in 2005 & 2011. 28 Individual NAIA champions
When they moved up to NCAA Division II status, they managed three top 10 finishes, including a 3rd place showing in 2021.
The force to move up to NCAA Division I was not easy on the Lion wrestling program, nor is it ever smooth or transitional for any NCAA DII team that makes the move. It takes time to adjust and learn the ways of the NCAA Division I world. A time that Lindenwood was never given. While I'll probably miss some names that more than deserve to be mentioned, I will do my best to list the many greats who wrestled for the Lion program.
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| Keith Ketcham |
To my knowledge, Keith Ketcham was the first All American in the history of Lindenwood wrestling when he captured a runner-up finish at the 1994 NAIA championships. He would go on to win the NAIA title in 1995.
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| Rod Alton |
Rod Alton was a two time NAIA All American for the Lions, placing 6th in 1994 & 5th in 1995.
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| Rickey Williams |
Rickey Williams was a two time NAIA national champion for Lindenwood, winning titles in 1995 & 1996.
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| Stephan Hughes |
Stephan Hughes won an NAIA title for the Lions in 1995.
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| Britt Williams |
Britt Williams also won an NAIA title for the Lions in 1996.
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| Brett Mueller |
Brett Mueller took 3rd place All American honors at the NAIA championships in 1996. Believe his son Cole is currently a member of Lindenwood's football team. Brother Brent won an NAIA title for hte Lions in 1997.
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| Andrew Scrimgeor |
Wouldn't think there would be that many people in the world named Andrew Scrimgeor, but the philosopher/writer is NOT the same person as the guy who took 2nd at the NAIA championships in 1996 & 4th in 1997 for Lindenwood.
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| Brant Burner |
Brant Burner had one of the most successful careers during Lindenwood's time in the NAIA. Winning an NAIA title as a freshman in 2000, he'd finish in 3rd place at both the 2001 & 2002 championships, before reclaiming his status as champion once again in 2003.
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| C.J. Campbell |
Former Oklahoma City head coach C.J. Campbell began his collegiate wrestling career at Southwest Oregon where he was a two time NJCAA All American. He'd go on to compete for Lindenwood, where he'd earn two more All American honors at the NAIA level. Making the finals in 2001, he'd place 5th in 2002.
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| Dustin Teeman |
Dustin Teeman won an NAIA title for the Lions in 2002.
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| Chad Smith |
Chad Smith began his collegiate wrestling career at St. Louis Meramec where he was an NJCAA All American. Transferring to Lindenwood, Smith took 3rd place NAIA All American honors in 2002, before capping off his career as NAIA national champion in 2003. He would later go on to become the head coach at Lindenwood, helping the team to much success after the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.
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| Brian Holt |
Brian Holt was a two time NAIA All American for the Lions. Winning an NAIA title in 2002, he would place 7th at the 2003 championships.
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| Dustin Zahursky |
Owner and operator of Kutting Weight clothing, Dustin Zahursky was an NAIA national champion for the Lions in 2002. He was also a champion Race Car Driver.
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| Wayne James |
Wayne James was a three time NAIA All American for the Lions. 6th in 2001, he was 3rd in 2002 & 4th in 2003.
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| Kentral Galloway |
Kentral Galloway wrestled his first three seasons of collegiate wrestling at Iowa State. He transferred to Lindenwood where he earned an NAIA All American honor of 3rd place his senior season of 2003.
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| Johnny Galloway Jr |
Johnny Galloway had an outstanding freshman campaign competing for the Lions, making the NAIA finals. He'd go on to compete in NCAA Division I wrestling for the Huskies of Northern Illinois. A three time Mid-American Conference finalist, he won a title in his junior season of competition. Also a Midlands place-winner of 7th in his junior season, he'd end his collegiate career one match shy of DI All American status.
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| Roger Miller |
Roger Miller was a four time NAIA All American for the Lions between 2002 & 2005. He placed 5th-2nd-3rd-1st.
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| Deron Winn |
MMA fighter Deron Winn began his college wrestling career at St Louis Community College where he won two NJCAA titles. Transferring to Lindenwood, Winn would take 3rd place honors at the 2011 NAIA championships. Post college, he earned a PAN-AMERICAN bronze medal in 2014.
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| Chris Chionuma |
Chris Chionuma had a standout career for the Lions between 2009 & 2011. Placing 5th as a true freshman at the NAIA championships in 2009, he took runner-up honors in 2010, winning the NAIA national title in 2011. After the 2010-2011 season, Lindenwood began the transition to NCAA Division II, which would not be complete until the 2013-2014 season. During that two year transition, Lindenwood competed within the NCWA. Rather than do that, Chionuma decided to spend his remaining eligibility in NCAA Division I. He transferred to Oklahoma State where he initially took a redshirt. He then won a BIG 12 title in 2013. Post his own career he has coached at various colleges.
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| Sam Schmitz |
Sam Schmitz accumulated 123 wins during his days as a collegiate wrestler. After capturing a 3rd place NJCAA All American finish for Clackamas in 2007, he'd go on to earn three NAIA All American honors for Lindenwood. Placing 8th in 2008, he was 2nd in 2009 & 6th in 2010. He'd go on to coach Womens' collegiate wrestling at various institutions.
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| Ray Stephens |
Ray Stephens won back to back NAIA titles for the Lions in 2008 & 2009.
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| Ryan Moyer |
Ryan Moyer was a four time NAIA All American for the Lions between 2006 and 2009. Placing 3rd in 2006, he was 4th in 2007, a National champion in 2008 & 5th in 2009.
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| Jeremy Powell |
Jeremy Powell won a NAIA national title in 2009.
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| Marco Tamayo |
A native of Texas, Marco Tamayo began his collegiate wrestling career at Colby where he earned NJCAA All American honors. Upon making the move to Lindenwood, he became their first NCAA Division II All American, when he placed 6th at the 2014 NCAA Division II national tournament.
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| Kyle Webb |
Kyle Webb was a four-time NCAA Division II qualifier for the Lions, making the Super Region II finals all four seasons of his career, winning titles as both a sophomore and senior. He earned All American honors back-to-back of 8th place in 2014 & 2015.
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| Terrell Willbourn |
Also earning a 3rd place finish in 2014, Terrell Willbourn became Lindenwood's first NCAA Division II national champion in 2016, putting together a record of 25-0 that season.
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| Derrick Weller |
Kansas City native Derrick Weller was along for the ride in each of Lindenwood's transitions. As a freshman he qualified for the NAIA championships. Then as a redshirt sophomore he won an NCWA title. When the Lions made the move to NCAA Division II, he took All American honors of 8th & 5th.
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| Steve Butler |
Also a member of the Lion Football team, Steve Butler earned NCAA Division II All American honors in wrestling when he placed 3rd at the 2014 championships.
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| Carlos Jacquez |
Carlos Jacquez earned a 6th place NCAA Division II All American honor in 2018 as a sophomore, putting together an undefeated 30-0 season as a junior to win the 2019 NCAA Division II title. Unfortunately because of COVID-19 he was not given the opportunity to defend his title. He was nevertheless, still named an All American.
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| Danny Swan |
Danny Swan was a four time Regional place-winner during his time with the Lions placing 4th-5th-3rd-2nd. He earned All American honors his junior season of 2019, placing 6th. He also placed 5th at the Midwest Classic that season as well.
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| Gavin Landoff |
Gavin Landoff started off his career at Appalachian State, where he made the finals of the Southern Conference his true freshman year. Transferring to Lindenwood, he would earn a 3rd place finish at the NCAA DII championships as a true sophomore, again earning a 3rd place finish as a redshirt junior in 2021. I believe injuries may have gotten the best of him prior to his senior season.
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| Tanner Hitchcock |
Tanner Hitchcock earned a 7th place finish at the 2021 NCAA Division II championships.
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| Colby Smith |
Colby Smith started off his collegiate wrestling career at Missouri, where he was an NCAA Division I qualifier for the Tigers. Transferring to Lindenwood, Smith would become a three time Super Region II champion, earning NCAA Division III All American honors of 3rd & 6th in 2021 & 2022 respectively.
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| Ronald Gentile |
Ronald Gentile made the NCAA Division II championships in 2021.
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| Abner Romero |
Abner Romero won a CCCAA title for Fresno City in 2018. He then transferred to Lindenwood where he won a NCAA DII title in 2021. Upon Lindenwood's transition to NCAA Division I, Romero transferred to St. Cloud State to continue competing at the NCAA Division II level. He would finish his career off with a runner-up finish at the national tournament.
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| Andrew Bradbury |
As a wrestling historian, I'm asked a lot of questions on a regular basis. One of them is, "has there ever been a wrestler who didn't win an NJCAA title, who did win a title at a higher level?" Well, I know more than one, and now I can add another to the list. Before coming to Lindenwood, Andrew Bradbury took a 2nd place finish at the NJCAA championships for Neosho. He then transferred to Harper, where he was 4th in the NJCAA championships. Upon coming to Lindenwood, Bradbury won back to back NAIA titles in 2004 and 2005.
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| Mike Rio |
Before becoming the Wolverine in the world of MMA, Mike Rio had an outstanding collegiate wrestling career. Taking 2nd & 1st place NJCAA finishes for Harper, Rio won back to back NAIA national titles in 2005 & 2006 competing for the Lions of Lindenwood.
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| Jake Dieffenbach |
Jake Dieffenbach had an outstanding career competing for Lindenwood. Making the NAIA finals as a freshman in 2005, he won back to back NAIA titles in 2006 & 2007 in his sophomore and junior seasons. As a senior Dieffenbach transferred to Oklahoma State to try his hand at NCAA Division I wrestling. Injuries ultimately got the best of him, but he went 20-7 on the season & qualified for the NCAA DI championships. He later came back to coach at Lindenwood.
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| Matt Cauley |
Matt Cauley was a three time NAIA finalist and two time NAIA champion during his time at Lindenwood.
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| John Murray |
John Murray earned an NAIA runner-up finish in 2009 for the Lions.
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