Kenny Monday elected as Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
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(National Wrestling Hall of Fame)
02/09/2001
On June 2, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame will induct five former wrestling greats for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the sport. The first of the new Distinguished Members to be announced is Olympic and World Champion Kenny Monday. Each day this week, TheMat.com will profile one of the new Distinguished Members in the Hall's 25th class. Kenny Monday was among the all-time greats one of college wrestling's perennial powerhouses, Oklahoma State. Monday arrived in Stillwater via Booker T. Washington in Tulsa, where he was a four-time Oklahoma state champion and was a 1977 Junior Nationals champion. While competing for the Cowboys, he posted a career record of 121-12-2, earned All-America honors three times and finished second on the school's all-time list for career falls. In 1984, Monday collected a NCAA title after finishing second during his sophomore and junior campaigns. Internationally, Monday was victorious at major tournaments worldwide, including the 1989 World Championships, the 1991 Pan American Games and the 1988 Tblisi Tournament. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler in 1989 and 1990 at the Grand Masters Tournament. He capped his international career with a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea and a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Monday also competed at the 1996 Olympics, finishing sixth. After his performance at the 1988 Games, Monday was named the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Year and received Amateur Wrestling News' Man of the Year in 1989. In addition, Monday was crowned as a U.S. national champion four times and the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival champion.