National Wrestling Hall of Fame

LATINO WRESTLING EXPERIENCE NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM | 19 Born in Puerto Rico, Franklin Gomez's family moved to Florida when he was barely 16. At Brandon High School, Gomez exploded on the scene as a senior in 2005, winning the so-called "triple crown" of wrestling including the high school national championship at 119 pounds along with junior national championships in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. He redshirted his first year at Michigan State, going 23-3 in open competition at 125 pounds. Moving up to 133 pounds as a redshirt freshman, he wrestled to a 31-8 record, but did not qualify for the NCAA Championships. In 2008, he went undefeated in dual meets and was ranked No. 1 after winning the Big 10 Championships. He lost in the NCAA semifinals and finished third. The following year Gomez returned to the NCAAs to win MSU's first national championship since 1995. Gomez compiled a record of 27-2 and was named Michigan State's Male Athlete-of-the-Year. In 2010, Gomez earned his third straight top-three finish at the NCAA tournament to finish his career as a three-time All-American. As a Spartan, Gomez excelled off the mat as well, earning a 3.2 grade average in his Human Resources major, even though when his family first moved to this country, he spoke and read little English. Said the Spartan oach about his national champion and three-time All-American, "Franklin is the total package-and a lot more…He's a great person. He's an honor student. He's very involved with his church. He's a student of the sport. He's a hard worker. He's humble. He's fun to be around. If you are looking for a perfect, grounded, well-rounded student-athlete, it's Franklin Gomez." After graduation from MSU, Franklin Gomez turned himself into a world-class free style wrestler at 60 kgs. His progress was miraculous…unless you knew just how motivated Gomez is to follow his dreams. At the 2010 World Championships, he placed 20th. Exactly one year later, he was undefeated all the way to the finals before smacking into Russian Besik Kudukhov. Taking the silver medal at Worlds in 2011, Franklin positioned himself to become the first Olympic wrestling medalist in the history of Puerto Rico. Although Franklin Gomez did not medal in the 2012 Olympics in London, anyone who has been watching the brilliant career of this Latino wrestler who has faced many challenges knows that Gomez will continue to excel as he pursues his dreams. FRANKLIN GOMEZ Wrestled 2006-2010 Michigan State University 133lbs

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