Completed Event: Wrestling at North Dakota State on January 11, 2026 , Win , 36, to, 3
Final
Wrestling
36
North Dakota State
3
Iowa State University Athletics
Remembering Cyclone Wrestling Legend Ron Gray
07.14.2023 | Wrestling
AMES, Iowa – Cyclone wrestling legend and Iowa State Athletics Hall of Famer Ron Gray has passed away at the age of 86.
Gray, who wrestled at Iowa State from 1957-59, leaves a legacy as one of the best and most decorated wrestlers in school history. He was a three-time national finalist, two-time national champion and won three Big Eight titles during his storied career.
In his final season at Iowa State, Gray defeated Wyoming's Jerry Frude in the NCAA Championship match and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. He is one of four Cyclones to ever earn Outstanding Wrestler honors at the NCAA Championships.
Following his collegiate career, Gray served as the head wrestling coach at both Franklin and Marshall and Kent State after a successful coaching career at the high school level. Gray coached 49 individual conference champs and six All-Americans in 25 years with the Golden Flashes and led KSU to nine Mid-American Conference titles and 233 dual-meet victories.
A native of Eagle Grove, Iowa, Gray was a legend of his own right in the prep ranks, where, in 1952, he became the first prep wrestler in Iowa High School state history to win a state title as a freshman. He would finish his prep career with three state titles.
Gray was inducted into the Kent State Varsity "K" Hall of Fame in 1999, Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2013.
"On behalf of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors and staff, I want to extend our condolences to Ron's wife Marica, his family and all of those in wrestling who he influenced," Lee Roy Smith, executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, said in a statement. "Ron will forever be remembered as one of the greatest wrestlers to come from the state of Iowa and Iowa State University. His contributions and impact upon his family, friends and former student-athletes will continue to inspire future generations."
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