Nov 7, 2016 4 min read

He is one of the greatest athletes the sport of wrestling produced.

Now, Cary Kolat is receiving one of its greatest honors.

Kolat, a four-time undefeated PIAA champion at Jefferson-Morgan High School and two-time national champion at Lock Haven, will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Kolat will be part of a class that includes Anthony “Babe” Gizoni, a three-time PIAA champion at Washington and two-time NCAA champion at Waynesburg University.

This year’s class will be honored at ceremonies at the 41st annual Honors Weekend June 2-3 in Stillwater, Okla. For information, call 405-377-5243.

Joining Kolat and Gizoni are Andre Metzger and Chuck Yagla, Meritorious Official Mike Hagerty, Outstanding American Commander honoree Dominic Pudwill Gorie, Order of Merit winner Greg Hatcher and Thomas Green, the Medal of Courage.

“The Class of 2017 features truly remarkable individuals who have been successful on and off the mat,” said Lee Roy Smith, executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “We look forward each year to honoring those who have not only made contributions to our sport, but also those who have taken what they learned in wrestling to excel throughout their life.”

Kolat and Metzger were chosen as Distinguished Members for the Modern Era while Gizoni and Yagla were selected by the Veterans Committee.

Kolat compiled a 137-0 record at Jefferson-Morgan. He was named Outstanding Wrestler at the PIAA tournament each year he competed, an honor no other wrestler has achieved even twice.

He received a full scholarship at Penn State, where he competed two years before transferring to Lock Haven. He reached the Big Ten finals as a freshman before winning the title and being named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year as a sophomore. He reached the NCAA finals as a freshman and finished third as a sophomore.

At Lock Haven, he won back-to-back NCAA Championships (1996, 1997) and compiled a 25-1 record as a junior and 25-0 as a senior. Kolat won two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles and back-to-back Eastern Wrestling League championships. He was named Outstanding Wrestler both years and finished his college career with a 111-7 record and 53 pins.

Kolat was a member of the U.S. Freestyle Team from 1997-2001 and won a silver medal at the World Championships in 1997 and a bronze medal in 1998. He won gold medals at the World Cup in 1998, 1999 and 2000, and at the Pan American Games in 1999 and 2000.

He was a silver medalist at the World Cup in 2001 and finished ninth at the Olympic Games in 2000. He was the University National Freestyle champion in 1995 and the U.S. Open champion in 1997, 1999 and 2000.

Kolat is currently the wrestling coach at Campbell University after serving as an assistant coach at Lehigh University, the University of Wisconsin, West Virginia University, Lock Haven and the University of North Carolina.

Gizoni became the fourth wrestler in Pennsylvania history to win three state championships, capturing the title at 101 pounds in 1946, 103 pounds in 1947 and 112 pounds in 1948. He won back-to-back NCAA Division I championships for Waynesburg, and was voted Outstanding Wrestler after winning at 121 pounds in 1950 and defeating Bill Borders from the University of Oklahoma in 1951.

Gizoni was ineligible for the postseason as a senior after competing in dual meets and tournaments that were not approved by the NCAA Rules Committee.

Gizoni finished his college career with a 52-0 record, and his overall record for high school and college was 120-3-1 with the three losses and the tie occurring in his freshman year of high school. Gizoni did not lose during his final three years of high school and four years of college, winning 108 consecutive matches.