INTERMAT Lists Former Heavyweight champs

[Bean]

1995: Tolly Thompson, Nebraska. Born in Janesville, Iowa, Tolland Thompson wrestled for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, tallying a 157-21 overall record. He was a three-time Big Eight/Big 12 conference champ and three-time NCAA All-American, winning the national title at the 1995 NCAAs. Thompson has served as an assistant coach at University of Northern Iowa for a dozen seasons. 6'4", 265 pounds.

http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20406
"In fact, a handful of NCAA heavyweight titlists weighed in at more than 300 pounds.

How is this possible, you ask? After all, there's an upper weight limit of 285 pounds for the top weight class. But it hasn't always been so ... as the weight class nicknamed "heavyweight" was once called "unlimited" because there was no top limit until about 30 years ago."

http://www.huskers.com/pdf9/5464886.pdf?SPSID=62&SPID=28&DB_OEM_ID=100
Brings to my mind also the Late Gary Albright;

Gary Albright (1982-86) 285lbs

Year W-L-T Conf NCAA
1981-82 21-6-1 2nd 7th
1982-83* Medical Redshirt
1983-84 31-3-1 1st 2nd
1984-85 17-6-1 3rd DNP
1985-86 43-4-1 2nd 3rd

Career 112-19-4

Gary lost to Thacker in the NCAA finals in 1984 for second.
Gary lost to Trost in the Qrtr Finals in 1986, then pinned Hall [Edinboro] for Third.

 

[Show Me State Red]

How is this possible, you ask? After all, there's an upper weight limit of 285 pounds for the top weight class. But it hasn't always been so ... as the weight class nicknamed "heavyweight" was once called "unlimited" because there was no top limit until about 30 years ago."

Good post. I enjoyed following Tolly's success I did not know about Gary Albright. Gardner was very fun to watch as well especially during the Olympics.

No doubt about unlimited weight class! That was the case for High School as well. I was the lightest Missouri heavyweight at State in 1985, topping out at 190 lbs. with an unlimited weight class. Earlier in the year I wrestled a guy who weighed 390 lbs. On the 1 hour bus ride to the match I was chowing down on junk food in front of all the other wrestlers starving and spitting to make weight. By the time my match came up my body was in the middle of a sugar crash. I couldn't shoot because he would crush me and I didn't have any strength left to throw him. I danced around the first period. He won the toss and chose the up position in the second. At the whistle he threw his weight at me and I collapsed like a whoopee cushion. I was immediately in trouble. With 1 minute left in the 2nd period he finally turned me. My only saving grace was that he couldn't get the half-nelson sunk in tight enough to finish me. By the grace of God I survived on my back for a minute with 390 lbs on my chest. I ended up sticking him the third. That was one of my first lessons in nutrition...lol.

On the bus ride home everybody else ate junk food and I was gut sick from exertion!

 

[Bean]

That sounds a little like what Gary Albright had when he wrestled Thacker for the 1984 NCAA championships. Thacker was huge [he had to be weighed in on a meat scale] compared to Gary and he couldn't do anything that he wanted or needed to. One of the reasons that Gary had the single season pins records was he had a signature move [and strong lower body] that when he hooked both of his opponents arms inside his, squeezed and did a throw [like they do in Greco Roman] that put his opponent on their back to an almost immediate pin. I watched him to that several times while I was at NU. Him and the Scherr twins were fun to watch. I never got to watch Tolly much as that was after I graduated.

 

[Show Me State Red]

I live in KC and in 2003 they had the NCAA finals there. A friend and I attended and I remember watching Steve Mocco's finals match. He came out of the tunnel and just looked wrestler mean...thick forehead and shoulders. I remember that as soon as the match started he was very aggressive and attacked, attacked, attacked. The Iowa fans were going crazy. I was actually rooting for his opponent but I remember Mocco dominated from start to finish. Good times.