Michigan's All Time List - #1 to #10

10. John Fisher (Flint Northern)

Fisher placed top-four in the state three times for Flint Northern, closing out his high school career with a state title in 1984.  He was runner-up at the Junior Nationals in Greco in both 1983 and 1984.  Following his senior year, he won a Junior World title in freestyle on American soil, in Washington D.C.  

At Michigan, Fisher reached the podium as a true freshman, placing 4th at NCAA's.  After a redshirt year, he placed 4th, 3rd, and 4th, respectively, in his final three seasons to become just the fourth four-time All-American in program history.  A three-time Big Ten Champ, Fisher is Michigan's all-time wins leader with 183, against just 21 losses.  He posted a 68-3 mark in duals and picked up 43 career falls - fifth most for the Maize and Blue.  Additionally, his 22 career wins at the NCAA Championships tie Mark Churella's program-high record.

An impressive International career would follow, as Fisher placed 5th at the Tblisi tournament in 1990.  He won the US Nationals in 1992 and faced John Smith in the Olympic Trials final that year.  Fisher took the first match from Smith, who was the five-time reigning World and Olympic champ at the time.  Smith would ultimately take the final two bouts of the series and go on to win his second Olympic gold, but Fisher holds the distinction of being the last American to defeat him.  

Fisher earned silver at the World Cup in 1993 and was 2nd at the 1996 Olympic Trials as well, falling again to the eventual Olympic Champ- Tom Brands.  A 1997 World Cup gold, bronze at the 1998 Pan-Ams, and a 6th-place finish at the 2000 Trials were among some of the notable finishes in the latter part of his career.

In 2019, Fisher was inducted into both the Michigan Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor.  A four-time Midlands champion and nine-time place winner, he was also named to the Top 30 Midlands competitors of the 20th century (of 7000+ entrants).

9. Nick Simmons (Williamston)

The "East Lansing Strangler" got his career started at Williamston, where he won four state titles with a record of 211-0 and 178 falls, including a streak of 54 consecutive falls.  Wrestling at Junior Nationals all four years, he won freestyle titles in 1998, 1999, and 2000, finishing 2nd in 2001.  In 2001 he also placed 3rd at Senior Nationals and was a winner at the Dapper Dan and Dream Team Classic - pinning his opponents in both.

Simmons was a two-time Asics/Tiger 1st Team selection (1999, 2001) and was Honorable Mention in 2000.  He was named to the 2001 WrestlingUSA Dream Team and also was the Jr. Schalles Award winner, given to the nation's most dominant high school wrestler.

Attending nearby Michigan State, and staying in green and white, Simmons became a four-time NCAA All-American with finishes of 7th, 4th, 4th, and 3rd.  He was a three-time Big Ten Champ, three-time Midlands Champ, and three-time MVP of the Spartan team.  His 138 career wins are second all time for MSU, and he is the career leader in falls with 46.  While in college he also won gold at the 2004 Pan-Ams and was 5th at University Worlds in 2005.  He was Outstanding Wrestler and won the Most Falls Award at the '05 University Nationals.

On the senior level, Simmons was a seven-time US National Team member.  He placed 3rd at the 2008 Olympic Trials and was 2nd at the 2012 Olympic Trials.  In 2011, he made the World Team, finishing 5th at the World Championships.  Simmons also won the US Nationals in 2010.   After coaching stints at Oregon State and Indiana, he returned home to start the Simmons Academy of Wrestling in Lansing.

8. Greg Johnson (Lansing Everett)

Johnson was a two-time state champion at Lansing Everett, in 1966 and 1967.  He was 3rd at the AAU Nationals in 1967 and made the 1968 Junior Olympic team, also finishing 2nd at the Olympic Trials in 1968.  

His career at Michigan State did not officially begin until 1970, after sitting out in 1968 and being sidelined by injury in 1969.  He dropped his second match of that season before running the table en route to an NCAA title at 118 lbs.  He would win NCAA Championships in his final two seasons as well, becoming the first Big Ten wrestler to win three titles.  A three-time Big Ten champ as well, Johnson was named Outstanding Wrestler at the 1972 Big Ten tournament.  

During his time at MSU, Johnson led the Spartans to three straight top-three finishes at NCAA's - 2nd in 1970, 3rd in 1971, and 2nd in 1972.  His career record was 54-5-2 and he was named to the AWN All-Decade Team for the 1970s at 118 lbs.  When interviewed about Johnson, legendary coach Grady Peninger compared him to fellow Spartan Magic Johnson, calling him a "once-in-a-coaching-career-type of athlete."

Johnson spent time at Clarion and Utah as an assistant coach following his competitive career, eventually landing a head coaching gig at Illinois, where he was at the helm from 1978-1983.  He was posthumously inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2014 and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2015.

7. Myles Amine (Detroit Catholic Central)

Amine graduated from Detroit Catholic Central High School where he captured back-to-back Michigan state titles, winning at 140lbs (2014) and 160lbs (2015) in his Junior and Senior seasons, respectively. On the national scene, Amine was a NHSCA Senior National Champion and was a Fargo All-American with a seventh-place finish in junior freestyle. Additionally, he was a Cadet Pan-American Silver Medalist at 63kg and placed third at FILA Cadet Nationals in 2013.

One of many Amines to wrestle at Michigan, Amine because a five-time NCAA All-American (2017, '18, '19, '21, '22). Amine became the first five-time placewinner in NCAA Championships history with finishes of 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd. Myles was also a two-time Big Ten champion in both 2021 and 2022, helping to lead the Wolverines to an upset title over eventual national champs Penn State.

Even with all of that success through high school and college, Amine's greatest accomplishments have come in his international career. Wrestling for San Marino, Amine earned a bronze medal at the 2020 (2021) Olympics in Tokyo at 86kg, becoming the first ever freestyle Olympic medalist from the University of Michigan. Myles was also a bronze medalist at the World Championships in 2023, and he was a Gold medalist in Budapest at the 2022 European Championships.

6. Mark Churella (Farmington)

The patriarch of the Churella wrestling family was a 1975 state champ at Farmington, after placing 2nd as a junior and 3rd as a sophomore.  He was 2nd at the 1974 Junior Nationals in freestyle, and won the tournament a year later in 1975.  Also in '75, he won at the inaugural Dapper Dan Classic, being named Outstanding Wrestler of the event as well.

He went on to have the most successful career in Wolverine history at Michigan.  Churella placed 3rd at NCAA's as a true freshman and then rattled off three straight NCAA titles, being named Outstanding Wrestler in 1978 and scoring falls in both the 1978 and 1979 finals matches.  A two-time Big Ten champ, he compiled a record of 132-13 with 41 falls, both program highs at the time of his graduation.  

In freestyle, Churella won the Junior World Championship in 1977 and because of the impending boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980, did not compete on the senior level past that year.  He was the head coach of UNLV from 1979-1984 and established the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite during that time, which has become the toughest in-season tournament in college wrestling.  

Churella was inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1996 and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999.  He is the namesake for U of M's Mark Churella Award, given annually to the team's most outstanding freshman.

5. Steve Fraser (Hazel Park)

A 1976 state champion for Hazel Park, Fraser also became a two-time NCAA All-American at Michigan.  He placed 6th in 1978 and 5th in 1980, also coming up one win away from the podium in 1979.  In 1979, he also made his first Senior-level World team in Greco-Roman.

From that point until his retirement, Fraser etched his name into USA Wrestling.  He won US National titles in 1981 and 1983, also making the World team in 1982.  In 1983 he was named Outstanding Wrestler at the US Nationals and won gold at the Pan-Ams.  A year later, made the Olympic team, ousting Mike Houck, who was a returning World teamer and would go on to win the Worlds in 1985.  Fraser also won the US Nationals in freestyle in 1984.

At the Olympic Games, he defeated three-time World Champion Frank Andersson of Sweden before advancing to the Gold Medal Match.  There, he defeated Ilie Matei of Romania, 1-1, in the finals.  He won the US' first-ever Olympic medal in Greco, with the added bonus of it being a Gold.  Subsequently, Fraser was named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Year in 1984 and was a finalist for th Sullivan Award, given to the nation's top amateur athlete.

Fraser was an assistant coach at Michigan from 1980-1987, an assistant at Eastern Michigan from 1987-1993, and US Greco coach from 1997-2014.  He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1994, the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 2006, and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.  The Wolverines give an annual award named in his honor - The Steve Fraser Award for mental toughness.

4. Brent Metcalf (Davison)

Metcalf assembled arguably the greatest high school career in state history while competing at Davison HS.  He went 228-0 with 156 falls en route to four individual titles and four team titles.  He was a double champ at Junior Nationals three times (2003, 2004, 2005), tied for the most Junior titles ever.  In '05 he was OW in both styles.  He also won a Greco title on the Cadet level in 2002, and was runner-up that year in freestyle.  Additionally, he won a FILA Cadet Greco title in 2002 as well.  In 2004, 2005, and 2006, he won the FILA Junior Nationals.  

Asics/Tiger named Metcalf a 1st Team All-American in 2004 and he was 2nd Team in 2003 and 2005, after being an Honorable Mention pick as a freshman.  He won his matches for Team USA at Dapper Dan and the Dream Team Classic, and was Michigan's Mr. Wrestler and Dave Schultz Award winner.

His college career began at Virginia Tech but he transferred with Tom Brands to Iowa, losing a year of eligibility in the process.  In his three years for the Hawkeyes, Metcalf put up a record of 108-3, including a 69-match winning streak at one point.  He won two NCAA titles and was runner-up as a junior.  A two-time Big Ten Champ, Metcalf was the 2008 Hodge Trophy winner and Outstanding Wrestler at the 2008 NCAA's.  Also that year he was named the Jesse Owens Big Ten Athlete of the Year.  He was OW at the 2008 and 2009 Big Ten Championships as well.  

Metcalf would go on to compete at four World Championships, making teams in 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2015.  He was second at the Trials in 2009, 2011, and 2012.  He also was twice a runner-up at the prestigious Ivan Yarigin Golden Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.  Metcalf currently is an assistant coach at Iowa State University.

3. Andre Metzger (Cedar Springs)

Metzger was a one-time state champ for Cedar Springs, placing 2nd as a junior.  On the national level, he won five Juniors National titles - in Greco in 1976, and double titles in 1977 and 1978.  He also placed 5th in freestyle in '76 and 3rd in Greco in '75.  In 1977, Metzger won bronze at the Junior Worlds.  At the 1978 Dapper Dan Classic, he won his match and was named Outstanding Wrestler. Later that year he was named to the WrestlingUSA Dream Team.

He would go on to The University of Oklahoma, where he became a four-time NCAA All-American and two-time NCAA champ.  He placed 5th, 2nd, 1st, and 1st in his four trips.  Metzger was a Big 8 Champ in 1981 and ended his Sooner career with a record of 114-14-3.  While in college, he made his first senior-level World Team, in 1979.  He won bronze at the World Championships that summer, making him the youngest American medalist at worlds - which stood until Kyle Snyder won it.  

A five-time US Nationals champ in freestyle, Metzger also won the US Nationals in Greco in 1980.  He made four world teams during his career - in 1979, 1982, 1986, and 1987.   He was 4th in 1982, was a silver medalist at the '86 Worlds and won bronze again in '87.  Metzger was a 3x World Cup silver medalist and a 1987 Pan-Am Champ before becoming an Olympic Alternate in 1988.

2. Zeke Jones (Ann Arbor Huron)

Jones was a two-time state finalist for Ann Arbor Huron, placing 2nd in 1984 and 1st in 1985, and compiling a prep record of 111-6.  He placed three times in freestyle at Junior Nationals - 5th in '83, 3rd in '84, and 4th in '85.  In 1985, he was named to the WrestlingUSA Dream Team.

Collegiately, he qualified for the NCAA Championships four times, earning three All-American trophies for Arizona State.  He was 6th, 4th, and 2nd in his final three trips, respectively.  As a sophomore helped lead ASU to a team title.  A three-time PAC-10 Champ, Jones' collegiate record was 134-21-3, the fourth-most wins in Sun Devil history.

Though he made two senior-level teams while still in college (1989-7th, 1990-4th), Jones' first medal at the World Championships was gold, in 1991.  There he defeated 4x World Champion (at the time - he'd go on to win eight) Valentin Jordanov of Bulgaria in the finals.  A year later, Jones became an Olympic silver medalist at the Barcelona Games.  He made World teams the following three years, winning bronze in 1995, before finishing 3rd at the '96 Olympic Trials.  In 1997, Jones competed at his eighth, and final, World Championships. During his years competing, FILA bestowed the title of "World's Most Technical Wrestler" onto Jones.

Following his competitive career, Jones served as an Olympic Team coach in 2004, 2008, and 2012.  He also served as an assistant at West Virginia, Arizona State, and Bloomsburg before becoming Head Coach at Penn, where he served from 2005-07.  In 2015, he returned to Arizona State, where he currently is the Head Coach.  

1. Kevin Jackson (Lansing Eastern)

Jackson was a two-time state champion for Lansing Eastern as a high schooler.  He was 4th in freestyle at the 1981 Junior Nationals and was 3rd the next year in freestyle, also winning the Greco portion. WrestlingUSA named him an All-American as a senior in 1982.

His college career began at LSU where he was a 3x All-American for the Tigers, placing 3rd, 3rd, and 7th at NCAA's.  After LSU dropped their program, Jackson moved on to Iowa State, where he was an NCAA runner-up as a senior in 1987.

From there, Jackson would go on to have one of the most successful freestyle careers in US history.  He won the US Open three times and was runner-up five times.  From 1991-1995, he represented the US at each World and Olympic event, winning World titles in 1991 and 1995, and adding an Olympic Gold at the '92 Games.  He is one of five Americans to win three World/Olympic titles.  A four-time World Cup gold medalist and two-time Pan-Ams gold medalist, Jackson was also an Olympic alternate in 1996.

Jackson went on to serve as the National Freestyle Coach for USA Wrestling from 2001-2008.  Following his stint there, he returned to his alma mater, leading the Cyclones from 2009-2017.  In 2017, Jackson was named National Freestyle Development Coach, where he worked with USAW's elite age-level competitors and oversaw the Elite Accelerated Program, in addition to working with the Senior-level team. After that role, KJ took over as an assistant coach with the University of Michigan.