PSU Wrestling Spotlight on former Penn State wrestler: John Lange

John Lange was a four year starter for Penn State and qualified for the NCAA tournament three times. In his senior year he finished as an All-American with a third place finish in the 1998 National tournament. No PSU wrestling fan will ever forget his performance in that tournament as, after losing his first match, he stormed back through the wrestle-backs to win his next seven for third place. During his career at Penn State he also won an Espoir National (Under 20) Freestyle title and the 1998 Big Ten Championship.

When I think of John Lange I think of integrity and loyalty. He was always doing the right thing. When I think about his wrestling I think about his senior year in the NCAA tournament when he lost in the first round and came back to win seven straight for third place. That shows his true character. He always gave his all. -John Fritz, former Penn State head coach

John, how did you get started in wrestling?

I got started in wrestling from 2nd Grade PE. They were handing out flyers that advertised Kid Wrestling. I brought it home, showed my parents and went to the first practice. It was lots of fun and I was hooked. The funny thing is; I tell everyone I started at 7 years old in 2nd grade and they are like “Wow”, but it was 8 Saturday mornings for 2 hours. I was hooked and started in the Longwood Kid Wrestling Club the following year with folk and freestyle.

Tell us about your high school wrestling career.

I wrestled at Longwood High School in Middle Island, NY for Mike Picozzi. Kerry McCoy and I were on the same team for my freshman and sophomore years. I was pulled up to JV/Varsity in 9th grade from the freshman level. I was the backup during my freshman year, but went to Cadet Nationals and took 2nd place. Sophomore year I won my first State Title, which was great because McCoy and I both won that year. I won New York State titles again in my junior and senior years and finished high school with an 89-3 record.

Talk about the process that brought you to Penn State.

I actually almost didn’t come to Penn State, but in part thanks to a surly old football line coach at PSU I smartened up. I was recruited by a few Big Ten, Big Twelve, ACC and EIWA schools coming out, so I had a lot of different choices. The whole process was pretty fun and I saw a few different styles in coaching. I had narrowed my schools down to Wisconsin, Indiana and Penn State; pretty much in that order. I really liked Wisconsin because of Barry Davis and I was sort of leaning away from PSU because I didn’t want to follow Kerry after he had won his NCAA title because I thought there would be extra pressure on me. Penn State was my last official visit and the only one my father went with me on. I really liked the staff, Fritzy, Oishi, Troy, Dave Hart and Bove, and the team. I liked the way the campus felt and what I heard about the academics but still was leaning towards going somewhere else.

Kerry took my dad and me over to the football offices to look at the Cappelletti’s Heisman and all the other stuff. Kerry knew I really loved football and I think he thought that may help seal the deal. While we were there the D-line coach, Serra I think was his name, walked in and started talking with us. He asked where else I was looking to go. After I told him, he said “Well, if you are dumb enough to pass on Penn State to go to school then you probably couldn’t have made it here anyway.” All the ride home my Dad and I talked about where I wanted to go. I really had Wisconsin and Penn State about even. The coach’s words, along with all the great things Penn State has to offer, just made it all feel right.

Who is the toughest guy you ever wrestled in college?

I would have to answer that question in two ways, in practice and in competition. Both answers have something in common, the same last name. It’s the Hughes brothers. Of course I wrestled both in practice and without a doubt Russ was the toughest guy ever! He was quite possibly the strongest person I ever wrestled with and just could never get the better of him. I honestly can say I don’t think I ever took him down in practice, ever! I did get to wrestle John in competition a few times and he had that great combination of ability, athleticism and strength. He knocked me into the consolation brackets at the East Stroudsburg and PSU Opens freshman year and it just felt like he played with me. They both were great helps in my career and I am proud to have had them to wrestle with; even if they did beat the heck out of me.

John, your performance in the 1998 NCAA tournament was unforgettable. Talk about that experience.

NCAAs my senior year was truly unbelievable. I had just came off of winning the Big Ten Championship and was feeling good about how I was wrestling at that time of the year. I felt like I was peaking at the right time. I had pulled the 7 seed and thought I was under-seeded. I had David Wells, a name I will never forget, from Cal Poly in the first round. I didn’t know anything about him since he was from the west coast and there really wasn’t an Intermat.com to follow everyone on. I don’t know if I had ever wrestled so poorly in my life. It didn’t matter what I did, he just kept scoring on me. I ended up losing 15-5, my dreams of a National Title were done. It stung big time. I remember leaving the CSU Convocation Center with my dad and walking back to the hotel to get something to eat. I told him I wasn’t going back, there was no sense. He let me vent over my burger and then simply said, “You caught a tough break, deal with it. Champions respond to adversity, 3rd is now first. You owe it to the school and your team to get back there.” He was right and I knew it. I refocused and got back in there. I wrestled one more match that first day. I had to wrestle 2 matches Friday morning and two more that night. I was feeling good and on a roll. I had to try and stay away from Fritzy, because at that point he would get emotional and it would choke me up.

Friday night in the round to place or go home I had to wrestle Hieronymous from Hofstra. I felt good about the match-up because we had both grown up on Long Island and I knew a bit about him. I had to go into overtime to get there, but I was finally an NCAA All-American. I crumbled to my knees and could feel a weight lift. The next round that night I had to wrestle Wells from Cal Poly again, it was payback time. I switched to a right foot lead, since the first time we wrestled he kept killing me with singles to my left leg. I was beating him 15-2 when I pinned him late in the third. It was bittersweet because I should have just beaten him in the first round. Saturday morning meant two more matches. I drew Tivon Abel from Brown in the Consolation Semis, which was another overtime victory. For 3rd place I was up against Ryan Cunningham from Central Michigan, whom I’d lost to in the PSU Open finals earlier in the year. By that point my body was sore and tired. I ended up winning a very uneventful 6-3 match. I had wrestled back after losing in the first round to take 3rd. I will always be proud of what I accomplished that weekend, but also have a bit of the “what if” feeling. It was great because during that run of 7 straight matches I was able to avenge loses I had suffered previously to 4 of the guys I wrestled. I don’t recommend that route to anyone to take 3rd place.

Update us on your life.

Since graduating from Penn State in August 1998 I have toured the country a bit. I went into coaching right out of college. I coached at Hofstra University for the 1998-1999 season and had the opportunity to coach at the NCAAs in the Jordan Center that year. I moved on to UNC-Chapel Hill for the 1999-2000 season. Both coaching jobs were part-time so I was looking for something a bit more permanent. That brought me to Eastern Michigan University where I coached as the assistant for 5 years. I met my wife, Rachel, at EMU. She had just finished graduate school there after playing soccer there too. While on our honeymoon I received a call that the Head Coach had resigned. I was named the Interim Head Coach for the 2005-2006 season. Throughout the season there were a lot of things going on in the coach search that really made me see the “business” side of collegiate athletics. I wasn’t going to get the job and by that point was looking for something new.

I had an old friend who had coached me in high school a bit, Pete Yozzo (won NCAAs for Lehigh), who was living in California and was in the business world. He had been telling me for years to do something new. He “recruited” me to help run an Insurance Brokerage. So, in May of 2006 Rachel and I moved out to Pleasanton, California and I started Suffolk Benefits & Insurance Services. It is a Small Business Benefits Brokerage. We help small businesses setup and administer their Employee Benefits Package, including Medical, Dental, Vision and Life Insurances among other things. It is a great line of work to be in.

I am still involved with wrestling. I run a club, the Tri-Valley Elite, for Middle & High School kids as well as coach at Amador Valley High School. Last November Rachel gave birth to Dylan Jack, our first child. So let Coach Paterno know that Dylan will be ready to play for him the fall of 2028. Rachel and I keep busy with him. Besides the coaching I am also playing soccer on a co-ed team and am involved in the community through the Rotary Club. We are loving life out here in the Bay Area, although it’s not the same since McCoy left Stanford.

How has the Penn State wrestling experience impacted your life/career?

Wrestling at Penn State has impacted me in many ways. It gave me the greatest bunch of friends I could ever ask for. Being in California now I don’t see them as much as I would like, but we stay in touch often. It also gave me the blueprint on how to do things the right way. Penn State gave me many great role models to look up to, Coaches Lorenzo, Fritz and Oishi for bits of advice I still use today as well as dish out to my guys. Sandy Meyer in Academic Support was always, and still is, there with a sympathetic ear or to point me in the right direction. Most importantly, wrestling at PSU cemented the importance of loyalty and tradition. There isn’t a day that goes by that I am not thankful that I was LUCKY enough to be a Nittany Lion wrestler.

Do you still follow college wrestling?

I do still follow college wrestling. It’s in my blood. It’s tough out here in California; unfortunately the programs out here are slowly fading. Thankfully there is the Internet; the Big Ten Network and ESPN come nationals. I am excited to see what Coach Sanderson can do with the boys. I follow McCoy’s team; keep a bit of an eye on Lehigh due to Hughesy being there and my business partner being an alum. It will be interesting to see what Nebraska brings to the conference in 2011/2012. The great thing about college wrestling is, the more they make changes to everything with weights, schedules, qualifying for NCAAs; the more it stays the same because it’s just two guys out there battling one on one. NCAAs in Philadelphia should be great next year and I am hoping to make it back since I haven’t been to them in three years; too long of a drought for me.

What advice do you have for collegiate wrestlers today?

The advice I would give to them is the same thing my dad said to me: Do not take anything or day for granted! These are the best days of your competitive life. Put your all into everything, EVERYTHING you do whether it's class, wrestling or your friendships. If you don’t you will look back and regret it. Oh yeah, listen to everything Coaches Sanderson and Cunningham tell you!!

What does Penn State Wrestling mean to you?

I don’t know if I can really sum up what Penn State Wrestling means to me. Proud is what comes to mind. Proud of what Penn State Wrestling has accomplished. Proud of what Penn State Wrestling gave me the opportunity to experience. Proud that when I tell people that I wrestled at Penn State they have that look in their eye like “Wow, you are lucky.”