| School: Jefferson | Graduation Year: 1993 |
Year Inducted: 2015
Sports Played: Wrestling
High School Honors: High School Honors: 4-year Wrestling letterman. PIL and State Champion as Sophomore (148, 155), Junior (148, 155) and Senior (155). US Junior and Cadet National Team competition in Hungary, Turkey, New Zealand, and Canada; 2nd in Greco Roman in world competition for 15-16 age division.
Post High School Career: Brown University, BA degree, wrestled four years, 3-time Ivy League champion, 2-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Assn. Champion (“Outstanding Wrestler” 1997) and NCAA All-American (one of four in Brown’s history), while finishing 5th in 1998 at 165 pounds. Holds 3 Brown records. Master’s degree, Portland State University; MBA, George Fox University. Currently teaching 3rd grade at Sitton Elementary; Computer Application courses at Portland Community College, SE Campus.
Commentary:
Wrestling was an outlet for my overabundance of energy and replaced the need for ADHD medication. My earliest influencers in wrestling and life mentor-ship were Roy Pittman and Donnie MacPherson. I owe much of what I have been able to accomplish on and off the mat to their guidance and help in forming the framework I choose to live my life by. The community that was PIL wrestling during the late ’80s and early ’90s cultivated the identity I carry with me to this day. The closest friendships of my youth and adulthood, the opportunity to see far-flung parts of the world and a sound foundation of respectfulness, drive and humility I owe to wrestling.
It was wrestling that afforded me the chance to learn in such a robust academic environment as Brown University, where I became one of the school’s few wrestling All-Americans in history. Through wrestling I was able to compete in Hungary, Turkey, New Zealand, Canada and virtually every corner of the United States. I currently teach 3rd grade at Sitton Elementary and Computer Application Systems courses at Portland Community College, South East Campus. I am a proud husband and father of two.