Tervel Dlagnev after a victory in the finals of the Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Tervel Dlagnev, 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time NCAA Division II wrestling champ who is now on the coaching staff at Ohio State, is one of four former student-athletes and a coach who will be inducted into the University of Nebraska-Kearney (UNK) Athletic Hall of Fame during the school's Homecoming weekend on Oct. 4-5, 2019.
Born in Bulgaria, Dlagnev was introduced to wrestling as a high school student in Texas. As a walk-on for the UNK wrestling program, Dlagnev became arguably one of the school's all-time great wrestlers. Dlagnev was a two-time NCAA Division II heavyweight champ (winning back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008) and four-time All-American. As a senior, Dlagnev didn't allow a single offensive point that season, helping UNK win its' first-ever team national team title.
In addition to demonstrating his prowess on the mat, Dlagnev was a four-time NCAA Academic All-American.
After graduating from UNK in 2008, Dlagnev took his outstanding wrestling skills to the world beyond Nebraska. Arguably at the top of his international mat accomplishments: a two-time U.S. Olympic team qualifier, earning a bronze medal at the 2012 London Games, then placing fifth at the 2016 Rio Olympics ... making is UNK's only Olympic medal winner. In addition, Dlagnev qualified for eight national teams and twice earned the bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships.
Now an assistant coach at Ohio State, Dlagnev joined the Buckeye coaching staff just prior to the 2016-17 wrestling season.
In addition to Dlagnev, other honorees for the Class of 2019 of the University of Nebraska at Kearney Athletics Hall of Fame include baseball player Neal Arnold, track athlete Lesley (Crutcher) Hulett, football player Roger Suelter, and women's track and cross country coach Mary Iten.
The UNK Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, in the Ponderosa Room with a social hour. A dinner follows at 6:30 p.m. with the class being inducted into the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame. To purchase a ticket for the Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet, visit unkalumni.org/homecoming. Tickets are $35 per person ($40 starting Sept. 27). On Saturday, Oct. 5, the class will be recognized at half time of the homecoming football game vs. Northeastern State. That contest kicks off at 2 p.m.
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