Dave Schultz achieved greatness in his brief life, as a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, 1982 NCAA wrestling champ for the University of Oklahoma, and California high school state champ. So its only fitting that Schultz -- murdered by John du Pont in 1996 -- would be honored by having his name and likeness featured on the award presented each year to the most outstanding wrestler at the California state wrestling championships.
The Dave Schultz Champion of Champions Memorial Trophy will be presented at the conclusion of the 2013 CIF State Wrestling Championships Saturday, March 2, at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif.
It truly is a champion of champions award. Each year, all individual state champs cast their votes for the greatest wrestler in California. What had been known as the Most Outstanding Wrestler award was renamed in 2004 in honor of Schultz, who won a state title as a Palo Alto High School wrestler.
Among the wrestlers who have been presented with this honor include Jake Varner, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ for Iowa State, along with Northwestern matman Jason Welch, Oregon State's Jason Lara, and Morgan McIntosh of Penn State. Niko Villarreal of Gilroy High won the Dave Schultz Champion of Champions Memorial Trophy at the 2012 California state championships.
Artist and wrestling journalist Joey Krebs first designed the award in 2006 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Schultz's passing. Krebs, who is West Coast Correspondent for Takedown Wrestling and writes for a wide range of wrestling and MMA publications, describes the award as a "ceremonial glass trophy platter" which features the likeness of Dave Schultz at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The award is 18 inches tall -- according to Krebs, "the length of a typical wrestler's first step in initiating a takedown."
Each individual Dave Schultz Champions of Champions Memorial Trophy is handcrafted by Krebs in a painstaking, multi-step process.
Schultz launched his wrestling career in junior high school. He culminated his prep career at Palo Alto High by winning a CIF state title in 1977. Schultz started his collegiate career at Oklahoma State, where he earned NCAA All-American honors, then transferred to cross-state rival Oklahoma, where he was a two-time All-American, winning the 167-pound crown at the 1982 NCAAs as a senior.
It was in world freestyle competition where Schultz earned superstar status. He was a six-time medalist at World championships (winning gold in Kiev in 1983) and claimed the gold medal at 67 kg at the 1984 Olympics. Schultz was training to wrestle at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and serving as a coach at the Team Foxcatcher facility owned by du Pont when he was murdered by the millionaire.
The Schultz story is the subject of a movie titled Foxcatcher, now in production. Directed by Bennett Miller, the cast includes Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz, Channing Tatum as Dave's brother Mark Schultz, and Steve Carell as John du Pont.
Want to know more? Check out Mark Palmer's five-part series on the Life and Legacy of Dave Schultz for InterMat, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Schultz's murder.
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