SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco State head wrestling coach Lars Jensen is among the nine newest members of the California Wrestling Hall of Fame who will be enshrined at a reception and banquet ceremony on Saturday, May 16, in Sacramento, Calif. The 2009 class will also include the posthumous induction of former Gator All-American and assistant coach David Nelson, who passed away in 2000 after a two-year battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

 

Jensen began his wrestling career at the College of San Mateo where he was named the team's outstanding wrestler for two seasons before transferring to SF State in 1977. A two-time letterwinner for the Gators, Jensen qualified for the 1980 NCAA Division II Championships after capturing the West Regional title at 190 pounds. Later that year, he also participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials.

 

Jensen then made the transition to the coaching ranks, serving as SF State assistant varsity coach and junior varsity head coach from 1980-83. He became the ninth head coach in Gator wrestling history prior to the 1983-84 season.

 

During his 26 years at the helm of the SF State wrestling program, Jensen has coached nine national champions, 55 All-Americans, 98 Division II national qualifiers, three Division I qualifiers and 39 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Academic selections. In 1997, he guided the Gators to the NCAA Division II Championship—the first-ever national title for the school.

 

This past season, Jensen coached four All-Americans in Naveed Bagheri (Los Gatos, Calif., Los Gatos HS, West Valley Junior College), Steve Franklin (Middletown, Calif., Middletown HS, Santa Rosa JC), Ben Ben Lockett (San Francisco, Calif., George Washington HS) and Curtis Schurkamp (Escalon, Calif., Escalon HS, Cal State Fullerton)—SF State's highest number of national finishers since 2002-03. Bagheri was also named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Freshman of the Year after winning the individual title in the 133-pound weight class at the NCAA Division II West Regional/RMAC Championships. In addition, Karam Basra, Lucas Duckwall, Marques Gales, Matt Mungo, Jamil Smart each received NWCA All-Academic honors.

 

As a team, the Gators finished the 2008-09 regular season with a 9-6 record in dual-meet competition, highlighted by victories over Division I foes Air Force and UC Davis.

 

Nelson, meanwhile, captured All-America honors for SF State after a fifth-place finish at the 1977 NCAA Division II Championships. He served as team captain that season, compiling a 21-7 record in the 134-pound weight class en route to winning the Far Western Conference title.

 

Following graduation, Nelson served as an assistant coach with the Gators from 1977- 81 while continuing to wrestle. Nelson was a three-time Greco-Roman place winner at the U.S. Nationals and won a Bronze at the 1988 Greco-Roman World Cup.

 

Nelson left the Gators in 1981 to teach history and health at Willis Jepson Junior High in Vacaville, Calif. He was an assistant coach for the varsity wrestling team at Vacaville High School serving under his father, Larry Nelson. David then took over the head position in 1993 and remained there until he resigned in January 2000.

 

In recognition of his continued support of SF State wrestling, the Dave Nelson Outstanding Contribution Award is presented each year to the individual who has made the biggest contribution to the team. This year's award was given to assistant coach Virgil Lockett.