Wrestling411

Dennis Hall set the bar high for Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States during his prime in the mid-1990s. In 1994 he won a bronze at the World Championships. In 1995 he won the World Championships. And in 1996 Hall earned a silver medal at the Olympic Games.

But Hall was best known for his tenacious style of wrestling on the mat. His rivalry with Jim Gruenwald was memorable. His marathon match against Brandon Paulson at the 2004 Olympic Trials was epic. And his weight cut to make the 2004 Olympic team in 2004 was painful.

If you look around the Division III coaching ranks, there are just a handful of “name” coaches the average wrestling fan can recognize. Coe’s John Oostendorp, Wartburg’s Jim Miller, Augustana’s Eric Juergens and Elmhurst’s Steve Marianetti come to mind.

Now you can add two-time Greco-Roman Olympian Jim Gruenwald to that list. Gruenwald accepted the head coaching position at Division III Wheaton earlier in the week and has realistic, but high expectations of his new program. Gruenwald talked to Wrestling 411 on Wednesday about his role with the new job and where his involvement with the U.S. Greco-Roman program will be.