CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR RULON GARDNER AND PETER VISSER –
USA Today is compiling the 250 for 250 series, coming up with the five top athletes from each state. The list will come from fans’ votes as each state will try and determine who have defined high school sports in their location.
Currently there are 16 nominees on the list, including Rulon Gardner and Peter Visser from the Star Valley area.
Gardner, a 1989 state champion for SVHS on the wrestling mat, famously went on to win an Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Sydney games.
He did so with a victory over Russia’s Aleksander Karelin, a three-time gold medalist and expected to win his fourth before being upset by the Wyoming farm boy. Karelin had not given up a single point during international competition in ten years. Gardner is one of the most decorated wrestlers in U.S. history. In addition, he was the U.S. champion in 1995, 1997 and 2001 and a World Champion in 2001 as well. He also won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics in Greece.
Visser just recently wrapped a stellar collegiate career at Weber State University where he set several school marks. In high school, he won three 3A cross-country championships and 15 total championships during his career. He was a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year as well.
Other notable nominees for Wyoming include Brett Keisel, Kenny Sailors, Logan Wilson Sydney Thorvaldson, McKinley Bradshaw, Chris LeDoux, Allyson Fertig and James Johnson.
