American wrestler (born 1981)
Tommy Rowlands (born June 3, 1981) is a former American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler.
High school and college
Rowlands graduated from Bishop Ready High School in Columbus, Ohio in 1999. He was a two-time Ohio state champion (1997–99) and the 1999 National High School champion, with a career high school record of 167–10 with 98 pins.
He would wrestle collegiately for The Ohio State University from 2001 to 2004. During his career at Ohio State, he was a two-time NCAA Champion, three-time NCAA Finalist, four-time NCAA All-American and two-time Big Ten Champion. Rowlands is the career record holder at Ohio State for takedowns (705), wins (164) and team points (703). He was also the 2001 Big Ten freshman of the year.
International
Following graduation from Ohio State in 2004, Rowlands had a successful international wrestling career. From 2004 to 2012, he was a University World Champion, Pan-Am Champion, 2x U.S. Open Champion, and 6x U.S. National Team Member. Rowlands was narrowly defeated in the finals of the Olympic Trials in 2008 & 2012 and became one of the few 2x Olympic Alternates in American wrestling history. He retired from competition following the 2012 Olympic Trials.
References
The Columbus Dispatch (Wed. 4/23/2008) Sports page article by Jim Massie
The Columbus Dispatch (4/15/2012) Sports page article by Rob Oller
iTunes - The T-Row & Funky Show
