It's Mount Rushmore season! For this edition, we are crafting a monument to men's freestyle wrestlers from the USA. So NCAA records, either as a competitor or coach, are not factors when it comes to deciding who gets their face carved into the mountain. Maybe in a subsequent Mount Rushmore!

Dave Schultz

Dave had one of the longest and most credentialed careers in American history. He made eight world or Olympic teams over 13 years, amassing two golds, three silvers and one bronze. Schultz was respected and admired around the world, due in large part to his desire to seek out the best competition wherever he could find it.

Bruce Baumgartner

Big Bruce made an astounding 15 world or Olympic teams in a row, medaling in 13 of those competitions, an American record on both counts. Baumgartner also holds the world record for strongest, continuously worn mustache. 

Jordan Burroughs

JB has now made nine straight world or Olympic teams and counting. He's second only to John Smith in gold medals and Baumgartner for total medals. Burroughs also competes in an era that is undeniably more difficult to win internationally due to the breakup of the Soviet Union.

John Smith

Considered the GOAT for a reason. Smith won six world and Olympic championships in a row, an unmatched feat that is the literal gold standard for American wrestlers. While reasonable minds can disagree on the exact composition of the USA Men's Freestyle Mount Rushmore, but if yours doesn't include John Smith, you're doing it wrong. 

But what about Dan Gable, Cael Sanderson, Bobby Douglas, Kenny Monday, or a future Kyle Snyder? Good question, that's the great joy of hypothetical Mount Rushmores. They can be different! It's all about starting the conversation, so by all means, construct your own and put whoever you like on it!