Jacob Stephen "Jake" Varner (born March 24, 1986) is an American

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

. Varner won the gold medal in the 96 kg category at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

. Varner wrestled collegiately for the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

Cyclones In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

. He was a four-time

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

finalist and two-time NCAA Division I champion (junior and senior). In high school, he was also a two-time

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

wrestling state champion for

Bakersfield High School Bakersfield High School (BHS) is a State school#United States, public four-year high school located in Bakersfield, California, United States. Opened in 1893, Bakersfield High School serves grades ninth through twelfth within the Kern High School D ...

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

, where was coached by his uncle Andy, who served as head coach, and his father Steve, who served as an assistant. His performance in 2005 earned him the Junior Schalles Award for top high school pinner. Varner served as an assistant wrestling coach at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

from 2016 to 2021. In November 2021, Varner was promoted to head the Penn State Olympic Regional Training Center (RTC), also known as the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. In 2022, Varner was inducted into the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stil ...

as a Distinguished Member.

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* * * * * * * 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Bakersfield, California American male sport wrestlers Iowa State Cyclones wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling World Wrestling Championships medalists Wrestlers at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling 21st-century American sportsmen Bakersfield High School alumni {{US-wrestling-bio-stub

See also

References

External links