THE OFFICIAL ATHLETICS SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER

Jody Van Laanen earned wrestling All-American honors twice while at UW-Whitewater. In his junior year he finished sixth in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship. For an encore, he won the Wisconsin State University Conference championship, earning the John Peterson Award as the outstanding wrestler at the league tournament, piled up sixteen pins in the season and repeated All-American recognition by finishing seventh in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III championships. Van Laanen was a two-time wrestling state qualifier for Ashwaubenon (WI) High School, while he was also an honorable mention all-state football player and a three year track letter winner. A resident of Green Bay, Van Laanen teaches physical education and health at Green Bay Southwest High School and also serves as head wrestling coach at Ashwaubenon High School. In 1989 he took a team of Wisconsin wrestlers to Italy for a cultural exchange and competition. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997.