 Dziedzic at the1976 Summer Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Stanley Joseph Dziedzic, Jr. (1949-11-05)November 5, 1949 (age 75) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | William Allen High School Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Freestyle wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | New York Athletic Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stanley Joseph Dziedzic Jr. (born November 5, 1949)[2] is an American formerwelterweight freestylewrestler.
Dziedzic attended high school atWilliam Allen High School inAllentown, Pennsylvania.
He was a 1972 graduate ofSlippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, where his collegiate record of 118 victories and only two defeats served as Dziedzic's springboard to international achievements in the sport.[3][1][4]
Dziedzic won threeNCAA Division II Wrestling Championships while at Slippery Rock in 1970, 1971, and 1972, threePennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles, and anNCAA Division I title as a junior in 1971. His only two losses in his collegiate record were to NCAA champions Mike Grant ofOklahoma in the 1970 NCAA semifinals and toCarl Adams ofIowa State in the 1972 NCAA finals.
He won anOlympic bronze medal in the1976 Summer Olympics and a World championship in 1977.
While serving as an assistant coach atMichigan State University from 1972 to 1978, Dziedzic reached the heights infreestyle wrestling in the 163-pound weight class, which at the time was rated as the toughest in the country and world. He won four national championships and two world cups, in 1975 and 1977, placing third in 1973. Dziedzic then reached the apex of his career by winning a bronze medal at the1976 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the1977 World Wrestling Championships.[5]
After retiring from competitions, Dziedzic served as a national freestyle coach for the Amateur Athletic Union from 1978 to 1984, and his tactical and technical expertise contributed significantly to the resurgence of the United States as an international force in the sport. He authored the United States Wrestling Syllabus in 1983, and was instrumental in founding the Olympic 200 project, a developmental program for high school wrestlers. He furthered the modernization of techniques and training methods of USA international teams, and served as vice president of the Coaches Commission of theInternational Wrestling Federation.
Dziedzic was manager of the1984 Summer Olympics freestyle team and played an active role inAtlanta's successful bid to host theCentennial Olympics in 1996. He was elected wrestling's Man of the Year in 1980. In 1996, Dziedzic was honored as a Distinguished Member of theNational Wrestling Hall of Fame. He later served as president and then vice president ofUSA Wrestling.[4][6]
