Chris Pendleton (born January 21, 1982) is a former American

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

who competed collegiately for

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. Pendleton won

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

wrestling titles at 174 pounds in 2004 and 2005 and was a three-time All-American.

Biography

Pendleton won the 145-pound

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

state championship his senior year at

Lemoore High School Lemoore Union High School (commonly known as Lemoore High School or Lemoore High) is a public school located in Lemoore, California. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is accredited through the California Department of Education. Its enrollment ...

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 2 ...

. His senior year performance in 2000 earned him the Junior Schalles Award as the top

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

pinner. In college, he defeated future two-time NCAA champion,

Dan Hodge Trophy The Dan Hodge Trophy is awarded each year to the United States of America’s best college wrestler. The trophy is presented at the end of the season by W.I.N. Magazine (''Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine'') and Culture House. It is the collegiate w ...

winner, and MMA world champion

Ben Askren Benjamin Michael Askren (born July 18, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. Askren was the former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion, remaining undefeated for over a decade before competing in ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

for both of his NCAA titles. Pendleton had beaten Askren in the majority of their meetings and provoked controversy after telling a reporter that there was no "rivalry" between them. He is the son of Bill Pendleton of Fresno and Lisa Cervantez of Lemoore. He has two younger brothers who both were wrestlers as well. In March 2020, he was named head wrestling coach at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

References

1982 births Living people American male sport wrestlers Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers {{US-wrestling-bio-stub