| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Henson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 1, 1971 (1971-01) (age 54) St. Louis, Missouri, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle andFolkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Clemson Tigers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Samuel "Sammie"Henson (born January 1, 1971) is a World Championwrestler, winning a gold medal in freestyle for the USA at the1998 FILA Wrestling World Championships, held inTehran, Iran. He was also a silver medalist at the2000 Summer Olympics in the freestyle 54 kg category, losing to Abdullayev in the finals of that event, held in Sydney,New South Wales, Australia. At the age of 36, he competed at the2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships held inGuangzhou, China, earning a bronze medal. He was namedUSA Wrestling's Man of the Year in 1998.
He is formerly the head coach atWest Virginia University. He was also head coach of the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. Henson was born inSt. Louis,Missouri. In 2015, Henson was inducted into theNational Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[1]
Henson attendedFrancis Howell High School inSt. Charles, Missouri. 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.
Henson began his college wrestling career at theUniversity of Missouri, inColumbia, Missouri. He was coached at MU by Wes Roper. He choseMissouri 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 anAll-American 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, ofClemson University, (the school where he would eventually finish his college career) by a score of 13-2.
After his freshman year, Henson transferred toClemson 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 backNCAA 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.
Although primarily known for hisfreestyle wrestling, Henson also hasGreco-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.
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 inDallas, Texas. He would go on to win the Silver in Sydney.
| EVENT | YEAR | LOCATION | 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 | 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 |
| Kyiv Grand Prix International | 1998 | Kyiv, 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 |
Henson has worked at theUniversity of Oklahoma,Penn State University,West Point,Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and theUniversity of Nebraska 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 theSunkist Kids Wrestling Club until 2014. In May 2014, Henson was appointed head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers.[2]
| |
|
