The wrestling community is travelling from across the nation for the 34th annual National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors weekend in Stillwater, Okla. June 1-2.

Honors Weekend begins Friday, June 1 at 6:00 p.m with the Reception and Unveiling of Plaques. On Saturday, June 2, the Golf outing will be followed by a luncheon at noon. The 36th Honors Banquet will be hosted at the Gallagher-Iba Arena O-Club on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.

Distinguished Members
• Fred Fozzard, Ashland, Ore.
• Stephen Neal, Poway, Calif.
• Greg Strobel, Bethlehem, Pa.
• the late Chris Taylor

Fozzard made history at the 1969 World Championships in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. He joined Rick Sanders as this country’s first World champions in freestyle wrestling. Fozzard was also a three-time All-American for Oklahoma State, winning an NCAA title in 1967.

Click for complete Fred Fozzard biography

Neal won the 1999 World Championships in Ankara, Turkey. He competed for California State University, Bakersfield, winning NCAA titles in 1998 and 1999. Neal went on to a successful career with the New England Patriots despite never playing football in college and was part of three Super Bowl championship teams.

Click for complete Stephen Neal biography

Strobel excelled as a wrestler, coach, and as a wrestling leader. He won NCAA titles for Oregon State in 1973 and 1974, and was the head wrestling coach at Lehigh from 1995-2008. Strobel also coached on the 1996 and 2000 Olympic teams and was in leadership positions for the NCAA and USA Wrestling.

Click for complete Greg Strobel biography

Taylor, the heaviest competitor in Olympic history, won a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics in freestyle wrestling. He also competed in the Greco-Roman division the same year. Taylor was an NCAA champion for Iowa State in 1972 and 1973 following his junior college career at Muskegon Community College. He died in 1979.  

Click for complete Chris Taylor biography

Other award winners include 
• Outstanding American, Andrew Barth, San Marino, Calif.
• Outstanding American: Chris Bevilacqua, Larchmont, N.Y.
• Order of Merit: Al Bevilacqua, State College, Pa.
• Medal of Courage: Anthony Robles, Truckee, Calif.
• Lifetime Achievement for Officials: the late Bill Lied
• Dave Schultz High School Excellence Recipient:Taylor Massa, St. Johns, Mich.

Barth was a member of the varsity wrestling team at Columbia University from 1979-1983 and co-captain of the team his senior year.  Upon graduation from the Columbia Business School in 1985, Barth began working for The Capital Group, a global financial investment firm as a financial analyst. Today, Barth is Chairman of the Capital Guardian Trust Company.

Click for complete Andrew Barth biography

Chris Bevilacqua, a two-time All-American for Penn State, is the founder and CEO of Bevilacqua Media Company. Bevilacqua was the CEO of Creative Artist Agency (CAA) Sports Media Ventures, Co-Founder of CSTV which was sold to CBS Sports in 2005 and Global Director of Negotiations for Nike Inc., from 1994-1999.

Click for complete Chris Bevilacqua biography

Al Bevilacqua has been coaching and promoting wrestling for 47 years as an organizer, administrator, teacher, and coach at the national and state levels. He is also one of the founders of Beat the Streets New York City wrestling program.

Click for complete Al Bevilacqua biography

Robles, who was born with one leg, earned three NCAA All-American honors while claiming the 2011 NCAA title at 125 pounds for Arizona State University. He is now pursuing a motivational speaking career with the Washington Speakers Bureau and was the analyst for the NCAA Championships on ESPN.

Click for complete Anthony Robles biography

Lied was honored by FILA as “first category exceptional” for life. He was an official for many international tournaments, including the 1964 Olympic Games.

Click for complete Bill Lied biography

Massa was an undefeated four-time Michigan state champion, a two-time FILA Junior National champion, four-time Cadet national champion, with academic and community service achievements. He signed with Michigan.

Click for complete Taylor Massa biography

TheMat.com will be providing coverage and interviews from Hall of Fame Honors weekend.