Chris DeLong
DeLong, who had been diagnosed with leukemia five months ago, was 58.
As a Cal Poly Mustang wrestler, DeLong had qualified for the 1982 NCAAs as a sophomore, and as a senior in 1984. At the 1984 NCAA Division I championships at The Meadowlands in New Jersey, the tenth-seeded DeLong earned All-American honors with a fourth-place finish at 134 pounds. (Among the other wrestlers in that bracket: eventual champ Scott Lynch of Penn State; runner-up Greg Randall of University of Iowa; and, in sixth place, Wisconsin's Jim Jordan, now in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican serving west-central Ohio.)
In his final three seasons at Cal Poly, DeLong crafted a 68-30-2 record.
DeLong served one year as a volunteer assistant coach at Cal Poly during the 1984-85 season. He then earned his bachelor's degree in social sciences at the San Luis Obispo school in 1987.
Prior to enrolling in what is formally known as California Polytechnic State University, DeLong had wrestled at John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, where he earned a third-place finish in the California State High School Championships as a senior after claiming league, county and CIF-Southern Section titles to complete a 40-1 season. As a junior, he placed fourth at state. DeLong graduated from Kennedy in 1979 with a 98-12 career prep record.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now