Ohio's four-time Ohio state wrestling champions - Ranked (2024)

The top 10 four-time state champions in Ohio wrestling history

Updated May 2024

Over 2,400 individual state wrestling champions have been crowned in Ohio since the first State championship was held in 1938 at John Hay High School in Cleveland.

In 1978 Mark Zimmer made history and became the first wrestler in Ohio and third in the nation to win four state titles.

Since then, only 31 other Ohio wrestlers have etched their names in the annals of history by accomplishing this feat.

In this article, we will highlight the 10 greatest four-time state champions in Ohio wrestling history.

Group Accomplishments

As a group, these 10 wrestlers have accounted for:

• 1 Olympic gold
• 4 World golds
• 8 World medals
• 16 NCAA titles
• and 33 all-American honors

Now let’s jump in and check out the top 10

[the methodology used for ranking the four-timers is at the end of the article]

10. Bo Jordan

High School: St. Paris Graham
Record: 182-1
Graduation Year: 2013
College: Ohio State University

• 24th Four-time Ohio State Champion
• 2013 Junior Hodge Trophy Winner
• Four-time D1 NCAA All-American (3, 3, 2, 5)
• 2017 Big Ten Champion
• 2017 D1 NCAA Runner-up

Jordan Family

Bo is one of four Jordans to earn four Ohio state titles. He joined his father Jeff (1983), and Uncle Jim (1982) on the prestigious list in 2013 and was later followed by his brother Micah (2016).

Fun Fact: The Jordan’s account for 1 out of every 8 Ohio four-time Champions while Graham graduates account for 1 out of every 4.

[Keep reading to find out which other Jordan and three other Graham guys made the top 10]

High School

Bo was dominant in high school only dropping one match. He closed out his career in style when he slapped a banana split on his opponent and pinned him 40 seconds into the state championship match, claiming his fourth title.

Ohio State

Jordan went onto have a stellar career at Ohio State, earning four all-American honors and claiming a Big Ten title in 2017.

9. Dustin Schlatter

High Schools: St. Paris Graham and Massillon Perry
Record: 154-4
Graduation Year: 2005
College: University of Minnesota

• 14th four-time Ohio State Champion
• NHSCA Senior National Champion
• 2006 D1 NCAA National Champion (as true freshman)
• Three-time D1 NCAA All-American (1, 3, 7)
• Two-time Big Ten Champion
• Competed in 2009 World Championships

Freshman Phenom

Dustin Schlatter burst onto the college scene as a true freshman, twice defeating defending National Champion, Zack Esposito, of Oklahoma State. He ended the season with only one loss (which he avenged) and capped off his phenomenal freshman campaign with a national championship, defeating Ty Eustice of Iowa in the finals.

Injuries

Schlatter went onto become a 3-time all-American for Minnesota but was unable reproduce his freshman success as he was hampered by injuries for much of his career.

8. Nathan Tomasello

High School: Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
Record: 178-5
Graduation Year: 2013
College: Ohio State University

• 25th Four-time Ohio State Champion
• 2015 D1 NCAA National Champion (as freshman)
• Four-time Big Ten Champion
• Four-time D1 NCAA All-American (1, 3, 3, 3)

Freshman Champ

Nathan Tomasello came into the 2015 NCAA tournament as the four-seed and proceeded to knocked off the number one seed, Alan Waters of Missouri, in the semifinals, and then took out an exciting Zeke Moisey of West Virginia in the finals to capture an NCAA title.

Four-time Big Ten Champ

Tomasello was a four-time Big Ten Champion and finished third at the national championships the next three seasons (ironically, falling to an Iowa wrestler in the semifinals each year).

Freestyle

Nathan still competes in freestyle at the senior level and will vie for a chance to represent the USA at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

7. Jeff Jaggers

High School: Bedford St. Peter Chanel
Record: 166-3
Graduation Year: 2004
College: Ohio State University

• 13th Four-time Ohio State Champion
• 2008 and 2009 D1 NCAA National Champion
• Three-time D1 NCAA All-American (7, 1, 1)

Jaggers is a Gamer

Jeff Jaggers came into the 2008 NCAA tournament as the sixth seed and went on a magical run, eventually topping Chad Mendes of Cal Poly in the finals, even though he broke his ankle mid-match.

Jaggers repeated as national champion in 2009, as he cradled his way through the bracket, cementing himself as one of Ohio State’s all-time great wrestlers.

Coaching the Bucks

Jaggers is currently the Associate Head Coach at his alma mater, Ohio State, where he has coached since graduating college in 2009.

6. Dean Heil

High School: Lakewood St. Edward
Record: 126-7
Graduation Year: 2013
College: Oklahoma State University

• 23rd Four-time Ohio State Champion
• 2016 and 2017 D1 NCAA National Champion
• Three-time D1 NCAA All-American (4, 1, 1)
• Three-time Big 12 Champion

Two-time Champion

Dean Heil, the St. Ed’s grad, won his first national title in 2016 for Oklahoma State when he defeated Bryce Meredith of Wyoming 3-2 in the finals. He followed that up with an undefeated junior season, taking out fellow Ohioan George Dicamillo in the national title match 6-3.

Senior Year

Heil was unable to repeat as champion his senior year, dropping a close match to Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell in the quarterfinals before falling to Chad Red of Nebraska in the blood round, just shy of all-American status.

He finished as a two-time national champion, three-time all-American, and three-time Big 12 Champion.

5. Jim Jordan

High School: Graham Local
Record: 150-1
Graduation Year: 1982
College: University of Wisconsin

• 2nd Four-time Ohio State Champion
• 1985 and 1986 D1 NCAA National Champion
• Three-time D1 NCAA All-American (6, 1, 1)

Graham Legacy

Jim Jordan was Ohio’s second ever, and first of the Jordan family, to claim four state wrestling titles. He and his brother Jeff started a wrestling legacy at St. Paris Graham high school. In fact, four wrestlers on this top ten list attended Graham, a direct result of what the Jordans started over 40 years ago.

Jordan Takes Out Smith

Jordan won his first NCAA title in memorable fashion, taking down the great John Smith of Oklahoma State. Jordan was one of the last American wrestlers to beat John Smith before he went onto win six straight World and Olympic titles. (see Jordan vs Smith full match here)

Jordan won his second title in 1986 over Greg Randall of Iowa by a score of 6-2. Smith redshirted that year and developed his now famous “Smith single”.

State Rep

Jim has represented Ohio’s 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007.

View Jim Jordan’ full profile in Ohio Wrestling Greats

4. Harry Lester

High School: Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
Record: 164-2
Graduation Year: 2001
College: Northern Michigan University (Olympic Education Program)

• 10th Four-time Ohio State Champion
• Eight-time U.S. Greco-Roman World Team Member
• 2006 and 2007 World Bronze Medalist in Greco-Roman
• Competed in the 2012 Olympics

Greco-Roman

Harry Lester spent one year at Iowa State before transferring to Northern Michigan to train full-time in Greco-Roman.

His focus on a single style paid off, as he is one of only three wrestlers on this list to medal at senior level World Championships.

He collected two World bronzes during his international career and also competed in the 2012 Olympic games.

3. David Carr

High Schools: Dayton Christian and Massillon Perry
Record: 188-6
Graduation Year: 2018
College: Iowa State

• 31st four-time Ohio state champion
• National winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence award
• 2019 Junior World Champion
• 2021 and 2024 NCAA D1 National Champion
• Four-time Big 12 Champion
• Five-time All-American (COVID, 1, 3, 2, 1)

Five-timer

David Carr is the only five-time state champion on our list, as he won a state title in Kentucky as an eighth grader before moving to Ohio, where he claimed four more state titles.

He is also the only five-time college All-American on the list as he was awarded an extra “COVID year” of eligibility.

Iowa State

Carr went onto wrestle for Iowa State where he had a promising freshman season and earned the three-seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He then went undefeated in 2021 and captured an NCAA title at 157 lbs.

The following year, Carr was the favorite to repeat, but was upset early in the NCAA tournament and finished in third place.

Champ vs. Champ

In 2023, David bumped up to 165 and finished as runner-up to defending national champion, Keegan O’Toole, who he had defeated twice earlier in the season.

The following season, Carr exacted revenge on O’Toole by defeating him in the NCAA semifinals on his way to his second national championship.

2. Logan Stieber

High School: Monroeville
Record: 184-1
Graduation Year: 2010
College: Ohio State University

• 19th Four-time Ohio State Champion
• Four-time D1 NCAA National Champion
• Four-time Big Ten Champion
• Dan Hodge Trophy Winner
• 2016 World Champion

High School

Logan Stieber had only one loss in high school, which came at the hands of David Taylor in the Ironman finals his freshman year. His 184-1 record gives him the second best winning percentage among four-timers, behind only his high school teammate, Chris Phillips.

Mr. Four-timer

In his freshman campaign at Ohio State, Stieber captured his first NCAA title in dramatic fashion. After losing to Jordan Oliver earlier in the season, he upset the Oklahoma State Cowboy in the national finals by holding off a last second takedown attempt by Oliver.

Stieber went onto win three more NCAA titles at Ohio State, becoming just the fourth wrestler in history to win four NCAA division 1 championships.

World Champion

In 2016, Stieber capped off his historic career with a World Championship at 61 kg, defeating Georgia’sBeka Lomtadze by a score of 8-4 in the finals.

1. David Taylor

High School: St. Paris Graham
Record: 180-2
Graduation Year: 2009
College: Penn State University

• 18th Four-time Ohio State Champion
• 2009 National winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence award
• 2012 and 2014 D1 NCAA National Champion
• Four-time D1 NCAA Finalist (2, 1, 2, 1)
• Two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner
• 2020 Olympic Champion
• 2018, 2022, and 2023 World Champion
• 2021 World Silver Medalist

David Taylor is the most decorated wrestler in Ohio history with four state titles, two NCAA titles, two Hodge trophies, one Olympic gold, three World golds, and one World silver.

High School

It was easy to see that Taylor was a once in a lifetime type wrestler when he busted onto the high school wrestling scene as a 90 pound freshman with the technique of a college senior.

Collin Palmer

One of Taylor’s most memorable high school matches came during the Graham vs St. Ed’s dual his senior year. Taylor bumped up a weight to wrestle Ohio State bound Collin Palmer, who was also vying for his fourth state title that year. Palmer went up early in the match but Taylor turned it on in the third period with multiple takedowns and a late turn to win 8-5.

College

Although originally committed to wrestle at Iowa State, Taylor followed coach Cael Sanderson to Penn State and became the new face of a rising program.

Bubba Jenkins

Many thought he might be the next Sanderson and go undefeated in college when he dispatched all competitors with relative ease during his freshman regular season. However, Taylor’s phenomenal season came to an end when he was pinned by former teammate Bubba Jenkins in the national finals.

Hodge

In his sophom*ore campaign, David went undefeated, won his first national title and the Hodge trophy – given to the nation’s top collegiate wrestler.

Kyle Dake

However, Taylor met his archnemesis during his junior season. Three-time NCAA champion, Kyle Dake, decided to bump up a weight while going for his fourth title. This set up one of the most anticipated matchups in college wrestling history. Although he came close in multiple matches, Taylor never could figure Dake out. He fell to Dake in the national finals and finished as national runner-up.

Another Hodge

Taylor put together another undefeated season as a senior and won a second NCAA title and Hodge trophy.

World and Olympic Golds

In 2018, Taylor won his first World title over Fatih Edin of Turkey. He followed that up with a 2020 Olympic gold medal when he defeated reigning Olympic and World Champion Hassan Yazdani.

Yazdani exacted revenge in the 2021 World Championship finals. However, the rivalry continued with Taylor coming out on top of Yazdani in 2022 and 2023 to win his third and fourth Olympic/World gold.

Oklahoma State

In 2024, David Taylor took over the head wrestling position at Oklahoma State, replacing legendary coach John Smith.

Enjoy wrestling history? You may also be interested in:

How were the four-timers ranked?

Each wrestler was ranked according to the following point system:

Here’s how the points shook out:

Taylor and Stieber were clear-cut #1 and #2. However, #4-#8 were bunched together. The only adjustment I made to the original rankings was switching Dean Heil and Jeff Jaggers. They were both two-time national champions and three-time all-Americans, but Heil placed higher than Jaggers in his non-title year and had three conference titles to Jagger’s zero. You could make the argument that Heil should be above Jordan as well, but I felt his win over John Smith was enough to keep him at number 4.

Full List of Ohio Four-time State Champions

Thank you to the folks on the Yappi.com wrestling forum for helping me complete this list