Ben Peterson

Although Iowa State’s Ben Peterson was the 1971-72 NCAA titleist, he pulled a major upset when he defeated Russ Hellickson to win the light-heavyweight berth on the 1972 Olympic team. Peterson proved himself quite a worthy selection by sweeping the field to win the gold medal. Before the next Olympics, Peterson won two AAU titles and finished third at the 1973 World Championships. He managed another win at the 1975 Pan-American Games, but lost four times during that period to the Soviet great, Levan Tediashvili, who eventually defeated him in Montréal for the gold medal. After the 1976 Olympics, Peterson continued to wrestle, winning two more AAU championships and he made the ill-fated 1980 Olympic team. He made his career as an architect. Peterson’s brother, John, also won wrestling medals at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.