Mark Schultz (wrestler)

Mark Philip Schultz (born October 26, 1960) is an Olympic and 2-time World champion freestyle wrestler and a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame,^[1] the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, and the California Wrestling Hall of Fame. Schultz is undefeated in Mixed Martial Arts with a record of 1-0. (www.mixedmartialarts.com)

High School career

Mark Schultz attended Palo Alto High, coached by Ed Hart.^[2] Prior to wrestling he won the Northern California All-Around Gymnastics Championships for his age group. His junior year he moved to Ashland, Oregon and switched to wrestling. After one semester he transferred back to Palo Alto, California and was declared ineligible ending the year with a 4-6 record. As a senior he didn't win any tournaments until the state qualifiers where he won the league, region, section, and the state.

Collegiate career

Schultz went to UCLA and went 18-8 his freshman year. He transferred to the University of Oklahoma, redshirted, and in the following three years (1981–83) won three NCAA Championships. Schultz was the NCAA Champion his sophomore year at 167 lbs. His junior year he moved up to 177 lbs to challenge two-time NCAA Champion Ed Banach. Banach was on track to become the first 4-time NCAA champion in history. Schultz beat Banach 16-8 and was named the NCAA Outstanding Wrestler. 4 NCAA titles were represented in his weight between himself, Ed Banach, and NCAA Champion Matt Reiss.^[3] The next year Schultz was undefeated and set the University of Oklahoma record for most victories in a single season without a loss. Schultz was named University of Oklahoma's Big 8 medallion winner for outstanding senior male student-athlete.

Olympics and World Championships

In 1984 Mark and Dave Schultz both won Olympic Gold. The following year Mark won the World Championships and faced all the Soviet-block countries that boycotted the 1984 Olympics. In the World finals Mark built a 10-2 lead after one minute and won 10-5. Dave Schultz is the only 1984 Olympic Champion to win the 1983 World Championships and Mark is the only 1984 Olympic Champion to win the 1985 World Championships. When Mark won another World Championship in 1987, he became the first Olympic Champion to add two additional World titles, and also tied Lee Kemp's U.S. record for World golds. In 1991 Mark Schultz, Lee Kemp, and John Smith were recorded in the Guinness book of World Records as "The most world titles won by a U.S. wrestler."

Personal life

Mark Schultz is the brother of the late Dave Schultz, who also won a Freestyle Wrestling Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympics. The Schultz brothers and the Banach brothers became the first brothers in U.S. history to win Olympic Wrestling titles in the same Olympics. However, the Schultz brothers are the only brothers in U.S history to win Olympic and World titles. The Schultz brothers won more NCAA, U.S. Open, World, and Olympic titles than any American brother combination in history. On January 26, 1996, Dave Schultz was murdered by multimillionaire paranoid schizophrenic John Eleuthère du Pont, the founder of "Team Foxcatcher". Four months after Dave's murder, Mark competed in UFC 9 and won. Mark then wrote an autobiography which has been turned into a major motion picture titled Foxcatcher directed by Academy Award-nominated director Bennett Miller, starring Channing Tatum as Mark Schultz, Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz, and Steve Carell as John du Pont.

Mixed Martial Arts

After 8 years in retirement, Schultz replaced Dave Beneteau at UFC 9 in 1996, facing off against the Canadian Gary Goodridge. Schultz won the bout by doctor stoppage due to a cut.^[4]

Mark retired from MMA with record of 1-0

As well as being a wrestler, he has trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Rickson Gracie and Pedro Sauer.

Accomplishments

• 1984 Olympic Champion
• 1985, 87 World Champion
• 1981, 82, 83 NCAA Champion
• 1984, 85, 86, 87 National Open Freestyle Champion
• 1987 Pan American Games Champion
• 1982 World Cup Champion
• 1983, 85, 87 National Sports Festival Champion
• 1978 California High School State Champion
• 1976 Northern California Age (14-15) Gymnastic Champion
• 1982 Unanimously voted "Outstanding Wrestler" at the NCAA Championship
• 1987 USA Wrestling Athlete of the Year
• 1987 Sullivan Award Nominee
• 1987 Olympic Magazine Sportsman of the Year
• 1985 Wrestling Masters Magazine "International Wrestler of the Year"
• 1983 Captain of the University of Oklahoma wrestling team
• 1983 Set the University of Oklahoma record for most victories in a single season without a loss
• 1995 Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• 1996 Fought and won Ultimate Fighting Championships IX. Never competed again. Retired with a 1-0 MMA record.
• 2000 Inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.
• 2010 Inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame with his brother Dave Schultz.
• 2013 Awarded the Lifetime Service Award by the California Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Mixed martial arts record

References

1. ↑ National Wrestling Hall of Fame
2. ↑ Brown, George; Prioleau, Cassie (19 Feb 2010). "Palo Alto High School wrestlers Dave and Mark Schultz remembered for Olympic gold medals, love of wrestling". The Paly Voice. Palo Alto High School. Retrieved 2 January 2012. 
3. ↑ "Mark P. Schultz, Distinguished Member, Class of 1995". wrestlinghalloffame.org. Stillwater, OK: National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 January 2012. 
4. ↑ What a medal can mean to mixed martial artists

External links

• Paly Green. Olympic Gold. Fade to Black.

v t e 1988 USA Olympic Wrestling Team Men's Greco-Roman Mark Fuller Shawn Sheldon Anthony Amado Isaac Anderson Andrew Seras David Butler John Morgan Michial Foy Dennis Koslowski Duane Koslowski Men's freestyle Tim Vanni Kenneth Chertow Barry Davis John Smith Nate Carr Kenny Monday Mark Schultz Jim Scherr Bill Scherr Bruce Baumgartner Coaches —