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Iowa State University Athletics
Olympic Gold Medalist Varner To Be Honored Sunday
01.30.2013 | Men's Wrestling
AMES, Iowa - Former Iowa State wrestling great Jake Varner will be back on campus this weekend as his Olympic Gold Medal banner is set to be unveiled Sunday at Hilton Coliseum during the intermission of the Cyclones' Big 12 dual with No. 2 Oklahoma State.
This past summer at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Varner became the sixth Olympic Gold Medalist in Iowa State wrestling history. The elite group of wrestlers Varner joined includes: Glen Brand (1948), Dan Gable (1972), Ben Peterson (1972), current Cyclone head coach Kevin Jackson (1992) and former head coach Cael Sanderson (2004.)
In the gold medal match at 96 kg (211 pounds), Varner won 1-0, 1-0 over the Ukraine's Valerii Andriitsev. Varner converted on a nice ankle pick to score a point and win the first period. He then earned a point for a push out during a scramble on the edge to win the second period and take home his first Olympic Gold.
While at Iowa State, the Bakersfield, Calif. native was a four-time NCAA finalist, four-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion. He compiled an impressive career record of 121-10, capping off his senior season with a 31-0 record and an NCAA title at 197 pounds.
His 121 career wins rank 14th all-time for the most wins by a Cyclone wrestler. Varner's 92.37 win percentage is the fifth best win percentage all-time in the Iowa State 100 match win club.
Varner will also be honored briefly at the men's basketball game against Baylor at 7 p.m. (CST) on Saturday night at Hilton Coliseum. The game will be nationally televised by ESPN2.
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