Jim Zalesky is the college wrestling coach for the Oregon State Beavers and a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Prior to joining the Beavers, he was the coach of the University of Iowa wrestling team from 1998-2006. At Iowa, he directly succeeded Dan Gable, of whom he was a three-time NCAA champion under. He guided the Hawkeyes to team national championships in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The Oregon State Beavers is a name given to all sports teams at Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon in the United States. ... Main entrance to the museum. ... The University of Iowa is a major national research university located on a 1,900-acre campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ... The book, A Season on the Mat, follows Dan Gable and his team. ... The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often pronounced N-C-Double-A or N-C-Two-A) is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletics programs of many colleges and universities in the United States. ...

Wrestling career

Jim was a four-time All-American at Iowa from 1981-84. He won the NCAA individual title in the 158 pound division in 1982, 1983, and 1984. He also went undefeated his last two years, ending his college career with an 89 match winning streak. At the 1984 NCAA Championships at the end of his senior year he was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. The Amateur Wrestling News named him "Wrestler of the Decade" for the 1980's.

He finished second in the 163 pound division at the U.S. Nationals competition in 1988, almost qualifying for a spot for the United State Olympic squad that year.

Zalesky is a member of the United States Coaches Association, and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.

Coaching career

After many years with the program, on March 30, 2006, Zalesky and his staff were fired from the University Of Iowa. Athletic Directory Bob Bowlsby cited the reasons being a decilne in the program under Zalesky, as well as the need for a chage.

OSU's prior head coach, Joe Wells, retired a few days later leaving the program on a high note ending with a 13-2-1 record for the 2005-06 season. Zalesky was announced as Oregon State's new head coach on April 14, 2006. Oregon State University (OSU) is a research and degree-granting four-year public university located in Corvallis, Oregon. ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...