Samuel "Sammie" Henson (born January 1, 1971) is a World Champion

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 spor ...

, winning a gold medal in freestyle for the USA at the

1998 FILA Wrestling World Championships The following is the final results of the 1998 World Wrestling Championships. Men's Freestyle competition were held in Tehran, Iran. Men's Greco-Roman competition were held in Gävle, Sweden and Women's competition were held in Poznań, Poland. Me ...

, held in

Tehran, Iran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most pop ...

. He was also a silver medalist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in the freestyle 54 kg category, losing to Abdullayev in the finals of that event, held in Sydney,

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, Australia. At the age of 36, he competed at the 2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships held in

Guangzhou, China Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, earning a bronze medal. He was named

USA Wrestling USA Wrestling (formerly known as the United States Wrestling Federation and as the United States Wrestling Association) is the organization that currently governs freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. USA Wrestling is ...

's Man of the Year in 1998. He is formerly the head coach at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

. He was also head coach of the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. Henson was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. In 2015, Henson was inducted into the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

as a Distinguished Member.

High school career

Henson attended

Francis Howell High School Francis Howell High School is a four-year public high school located in St. Charles, Missouri. Approximately 1800 students from Defiance, Foristell, New Melle, O'Fallon, Saint Peters, Saint Charles, Weldon Spring, and Wentzville attend s ...

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

. There, he was coached by Roger Hodapp (1986–1987), and Judd Hofmann (1988–1989). Henson and brothers Chuck and Kevin helped lead the Francis Howell Vikings to 4 Missouri State Team Championships in the 1980s. Henson was a member of the 1986 and 1987 State Championship teams. Individually, he placed fourth in state as a freshman, and was a three time Missouri class 4A State Champion. In 1989 he was named Missouri 4A High School Wrestler of the year, and was a First Team Asics High School All American.

College career

Henson began his college wrestling career at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

, in Columbia, Missouri. He was coached at MU by Wes Roper. He chose

because it was close to home, and because he wanted to prove that he could win for his in-state school. He proved the point by becoming a Big 8 champion, and an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in his freshman year, winning fifth place at the 1991 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He achieved this despite being the seventh seed in the tournament. Ironically, to win fifth place, he defeated second seeded Donnie Heckel, of

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

, (the school where he would eventually finish his college career) by a score of 13-2. He then transferred to Clemson to wrestle under Coach Gil Sanchez. He ended his college career as the most successful wrestler in Clemson history, going 71-0 over his last two seasons. He won back to back

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

titles at 118 pounds in 1993 and 1994. In 1994, he was also named ACC Wrestler of the Year. He then returned to the University of Missouri to finish his degree, graduating in 1995 with a degree in Park, Recreation and Tourism Management. He was inducted into Clemson's Hall of Fame in 2000. Henson was one of Clemson's last wrestlers (the program was discontinued in 1995 due to Title IX) and named one of ACC's Top 100 athletes in a conference more known for basketball.

International career

US Open

Although primarily known for his

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestli ...

, Henson also has Greco-Roman wrestling experience. He won a gold medal in Greco-Roman at the 1990 US Open, and placed 4th in the event at the 1998 Open. In freestyle at the US Open, Henson placed 4th in 1995, won silver medals in 1997 and 2004, and won the gold in 1998, 2000, and 2005.

Olympic Trials

Henson was an Olympic qualifier in 1988, won silver at the Olympic Trials in 1992 and 2004, and won the gold in the 2000 Olympic Trials held in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. He would go on to win the Silver in Sydney.

International Events

, - , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0" , EVENT , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0" , YEAR , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0" , LOCATION , style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0" , MEDAL , - , Olympic Games , 2000 , Sydney, Australia , Silver , - , World Championship , 1998 , Tehran, Iran , Gold , - , World Championship , 2006 , Guanzgoua, China , Bronze , - , World Cup , 1997 , Stillwater, Oklahoma , Silver , - , World Cup , 1999 , Spokane, Washington , Silver , - , Goodwill Games , 1998 , New York, New York , Silver , - , Yarigan International , 2000 , Siberia, Russia , Gold , - , Yarigan International , 2005 , Siberia, Russia , Bronze , - ,

Cerro Pelado International United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including ...

, 2000 , St. Spiritus, Cuba , Silver , - , Cerro Pelado International , 2003 , St. Spiritus, Cuba , Gold , - , Cerro Pelado International , 2005 , St. Spiritus, Cuba , Gold , - , Medved International , 2005 , Minsk, Russia , Gold , - , Clansmen International , 2001 , British Columbia, Canada , Gold , - , Clansmen International , 2003 , British Columbia, Canada , Gold , - , Dave Schultz International , 2003 , Colorado Springs, Colorado , Gold , - , Yasar Dogu International , 1997 , Ankara, Turkey , Gold , - , Yasar Dogu International , 1998 , Ankara, Turkey , Gold , - , Yasar Dogu International , 2001 , Ankara, Turkey , Gold , - , Yasar Dogu International , 2005 , Ankara, Turkey , Silver , - , Poland International , 2001 , Warsaw, Poland , Gold , - , Kiev Grand Prix International , 1998 , Kiev, Ukraine , Bronze , - , Uzbekistan Cup , 1997 , Tashkent, Uzbekistan , Silver , - , Henri Delglane Challenge International , 1996 , Nice, France , Bronze , - , New York Athletic Club International , 2000 , New York, New York , Gold

Coaching career

Henson has worked at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

, Penn State University,

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California or California State Polytechnic Univ ...

and the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

as an assistant coach. Henson helped coach Michael Lightner and Byron Tucker to NCAA titles at Oklahoma, and helped coach Nebraska's Paul Donahoe to an NCAA crown in 2007. In just two years at Penn State, Henson helped Coach Troy Sunderland build up the Nittany Lions program from 35th to 6th nationally, with two top-five recruiting classes. He was at the University of Missouri as the assistant head coach under Brian Smith and was the head coach of the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club until 2014. In May 2014, Henson was appointed head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers.

References

Canoe Canada: USA's Samuel Henson, in red, battles with Azerbaijan's Namig Abdullayev during their 54 kg freestyle wrestling finals at the XXVII Summer Games in Sydney, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000. Abdullayev won the gold.
(Photo)
Sports Illustrated: Two Russians claim gold to salvage pride

Cal Poly Website

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henson, Samuel 1971 births Living people Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling Missouri Tigers wrestlers World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Clemson Tigers wrestlers Oklahoma Sooners wrestling coaches Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling coaches Army Black Knights wrestling coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling West Virginia Mountaineers wrestling coaches Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games