Mark Lieberman '79 elected to National Wrestling Hall of Fame
10/22/2019 4:36:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
STILLWATER, Okla. – Former Lehigh wrestling standout and Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame member Mark Lieberman '79 has been elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member, it was announced Tuesday.
Lieberman was a two-time undefeated NCAA Champion and Lehigh's first four-time EIWA Champion and is arguably Lehigh's most acclaimed wrestler in terms of folkstyle and freestyle accomplishments.
He will be formally inducted as part of the Class of 2020 at the 44th Annual Honors Weekend, June 5-6, 2020 in Stillwater, Okla.
Lieberman pinned 12 of his 16 opponents on the way to becoming Lehigh's first four-time EIWA Champion. As a senior, he swept the EIWA Tournament's major awards, winning the Coaches Trophy (Outstanding Wrestler), Sheridan Trophy (Most Falls) and Fletcher Trophy (Career Team Points).
On the national level, Lieberman was a three-time All-American and NCAA finalist, earning runner-up honors at 167 in 1977 and then winning back-to-back titles at 177 in 1978 and 1978. For his Lehigh career, Lieberman amassed an 85-6 record. He still holds Lehigh records for single season falls (16 – 1979), career falls (43) and single season bonus win percentage (95.2% - 1979).
Lieberman was an AAU national champion in freestyle in 1977 and won three consecutive U.S. Wresting Federation national titles in 1978, 1979 and 1980. He was a World Cup gold medalist in 1978 and won silver the following year. Lieberman also has a Pan American championship to his credit.
In 1978, Lieberman pinned Olympic gold medalist John Peterson in the finals of the National Open, earning the Outstanding Wrestle Award, Most Falls Award, U.S. Wrestling Federation Grand Champion Award and the 1978 Athlete of the Year. Three of Lieberman's National Open titles and all of his international medals were won as an undergraduate at Lehigh.
Lieberman helped launch the Blair Academy freestyle program and was a two-time AAU Junior World Champion, and was a three-time National Prep Champion (and two-time Outstanding Wrestler).
The Lieberman family owns three of Lehigh's 28 NCAA Championships, with Mark's older brother Mike winning in 1975 at 177.
Mark Lieberman was inducted into the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. He is also a 1987 inductee of the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, a 1998 EIWA Hall of Fame inductee and was inducted into the Blair Academy Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.
Also elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as Distinguished Members are three-time Greco-Roman world medalist Dremiel Byers, world freestyle champion and U.S. freestyle head coach Bill Zadick and former U.S. freestyle head coach and Navy wrestling head coach Bruce Burnett.
Distinguished Members can be a wrestler who has achieved extraordinary success in national and/or international competition; a coach who has demonstrated great leadership in the profession and who has compiled an outstanding record; or a contributor whose long-term activities have substantially enhanced the development and advancement of the sport.
Others elected as part of the Class of 2020 include Meritorious Official Tim Shiels, Order of Merit recipient Gary Abbott, Medal of Courage recipient Gary Chopp and Outstanding American Carl Eschenbach.
Lieberman was a two-time undefeated NCAA Champion and Lehigh's first four-time EIWA Champion and is arguably Lehigh's most acclaimed wrestler in terms of folkstyle and freestyle accomplishments.
He will be formally inducted as part of the Class of 2020 at the 44th Annual Honors Weekend, June 5-6, 2020 in Stillwater, Okla.
Lieberman pinned 12 of his 16 opponents on the way to becoming Lehigh's first four-time EIWA Champion. As a senior, he swept the EIWA Tournament's major awards, winning the Coaches Trophy (Outstanding Wrestler), Sheridan Trophy (Most Falls) and Fletcher Trophy (Career Team Points).
On the national level, Lieberman was a three-time All-American and NCAA finalist, earning runner-up honors at 167 in 1977 and then winning back-to-back titles at 177 in 1978 and 1978. For his Lehigh career, Lieberman amassed an 85-6 record. He still holds Lehigh records for single season falls (16 – 1979), career falls (43) and single season bonus win percentage (95.2% - 1979).
Lieberman was an AAU national champion in freestyle in 1977 and won three consecutive U.S. Wresting Federation national titles in 1978, 1979 and 1980. He was a World Cup gold medalist in 1978 and won silver the following year. Lieberman also has a Pan American championship to his credit.
In 1978, Lieberman pinned Olympic gold medalist John Peterson in the finals of the National Open, earning the Outstanding Wrestle Award, Most Falls Award, U.S. Wrestling Federation Grand Champion Award and the 1978 Athlete of the Year. Three of Lieberman's National Open titles and all of his international medals were won as an undergraduate at Lehigh.
Lieberman helped launch the Blair Academy freestyle program and was a two-time AAU Junior World Champion, and was a three-time National Prep Champion (and two-time Outstanding Wrestler).
The Lieberman family owns three of Lehigh's 28 NCAA Championships, with Mark's older brother Mike winning in 1975 at 177.
Mark Lieberman was inducted into the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. He is also a 1987 inductee of the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, a 1998 EIWA Hall of Fame inductee and was inducted into the Blair Academy Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.
Also elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as Distinguished Members are three-time Greco-Roman world medalist Dremiel Byers, world freestyle champion and U.S. freestyle head coach Bill Zadick and former U.S. freestyle head coach and Navy wrestling head coach Bruce Burnett.
Distinguished Members can be a wrestler who has achieved extraordinary success in national and/or international competition; a coach who has demonstrated great leadership in the profession and who has compiled an outstanding record; or a contributor whose long-term activities have substantially enhanced the development and advancement of the sport.
Others elected as part of the Class of 2020 include Meritorious Official Tim Shiels, Order of Merit recipient Gary Abbott, Medal of Courage recipient Gary Chopp and Outstanding American Carl Eschenbach.
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