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LATINO WRESTLING EXPERIENCE NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM | 47 In yet another example of the tradition of wrestling in many Latino families, Gil Sanchez, an All-American for the University of Nebraska, is the son of Gil Sr. who was a 1963 115-pound runner-up at the NCAA Championships for the Colorado State University Rams. Further the younger Gil, is the nephew of Art Sanchez, a three-time letterman at the University of Wyoming between 1965 and 1967, and of All-American Ray Sanchez, also a Wyoming Cowboy, who finished fourth at 115 lbs. in 1967. The Sanchez clan, which hails from Cheyenne, is one of the most respected and honored families of wrestling in the history of the Cowboy State. Gil Jr. continued his family's proud tradition by going 48-0-1 in his high school career at Cheyenne Central and won two state titles of his own, earning High School All-America honors and United States Festival Championship in 1981. This impressive track record attracted the attention of Coach Bob Fehrs, who offered Sanchez a scholarship to compete at the University of Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were amply rewarded for investing in Gil as he produced a long list of impressive statistics while donning the red and white singlet. Sanchez earned All-America honors, finishing as runner-up at 134 pounds at the NCAA Championships in 1987 and was named the Huskers' Outstanding Wrestler for that campaign. Although he lost in the finals to Oklahoma State's John Smith, Sanchez was the only wrestler to defeat the 1988 Olympic Gold medalist during his junior year; besting Smith 13-6 on November 20, 1986. Among his achievements were: the highest season win total in school history (46-3 in 1986-87); the highest season dual meet winning percentage (100% in 1986-1987); and the 10th highest winning percentage for a total season in school history (.939 in 1986- 1987). Over all, his mark on the mat was 96-25-3, and he was also a two-time Big Eight runner-up. Finally, Sanchez also competed at the international level, winning the 1991 Canada Cup, and being part of a US team in dual meets against Cuba, Russia, and South Korea. Sanchez followed up his collegiate mat career by serving as a graduate assistant and assistant coach at his alma mater from 1988 to 1991 before moving on serve as the top assistant to Clemson University's head coach, Eddie Griffin. After helping lead the Tigers to a 22nd place in the 1992 Nationals, Sanchez became Clemson's head coach. Things started well with the Tigers in 1993 as Gil lead his charges to a top 15 finish in the NCAA tournament, and coached Clemson's second national champion, Sam Henson. He finished second in the voting for the Rookie Coach of the Year Award from Amateur Wrestling News. The 1994 campaign was similar, as Sanchez guided the program to a 14-6 record, and seventh place in Nationals. It appeared that the sky was the limit. Unfortunately, things went bad very, very quickly. The Tigers struggled through a 4-13 record in 1994-1995, and Sanchez was asked to resign in the midst of NCAA allegations of impropriety. The infraction supposedly took place at a meet in January of 1995 when one wrestler allegedly competed under the name of another athlete. Sanchez resigned his position on February 14, 1995 and, shortly thereafter, Clemson dropped its wrestling program, citing Title IX "issues." Since his resignation from Clemson, Gil Sanchez has put his education degree to work as an administrator at schools in South Carolina. He has also, not surprisingly, worked as a wrestling coach in the Hilton Head area, mostly at the middle school level. GIL SANCHEZ Wrestled 1983-1987 University of Nebraska 134lbs