Even though his collegiate career is over, University of Wyoming wrestling assistant coach Chris Pendleton is still receiving praise for his skills on the mat.
T.R. Foley, a senior writer at InterMat, ranked Pendleton as the 10th-best college wrestler of the 2000s in an article released July 11. InterMat is one of the most popular wrestling publications in the nation.
Pendleton, who has been an assistant coach at UW since 2010, was a two-time NCAA finalist and won the 174-pound title in 2004 and 2005 for Oklahoma State. He owned a career record of 118-12.
“It’s a nice list to be on, and it’s a very humbling list to be on,” Pendleton said. “The biggest thing that jumps out to me is that four of the top 10 wrestlers were at 174 pounds, which is what I wrestled at. That shows how tough the road was in that weight class.”
An excerpt from the article explains why Pendleton was chosen for the list:
“In addition to being a two-time NCAA champion, what stands out most about Pendleton’s career was his dominance over (former Missouri wrestler and two-time NCAA champion) Ben Askren,” Foley wrote. “The final record from their eight college meetings has Pendleton in the lead 7-1. Add in the fact that he had single-loss seasons in ’04 and ’05 and Pendleton is the favorite in a large and distinguished field of two-time NCAA champions and three-time finalists that were left out of the top 10.”
The National Wrestling Coaches Association also announced recently that Pendleton, along with 44 other coaches representing every collegiate division, would receive a fully funded trip including airfare, lodging, meals and convention registration fees for the fourth annual NWCA Coaching Leadership Academy. The event takes place Aug. 1 and 2 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
