LHU Hall of Famer Sara McMann selected for National Wrestling Hall of Fame

STILLWATER, Okla. – Sara McMann, a 2003 Lock Haven University graduate and 2017 LHU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee has added another prestigious honor to her resume. The announcement came Wednesday as the National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2022 and McMann was chosen as a Distinguished Member for the Modern Era.

She soared to great heights in the sport of wrestling after her days on the LHU wrestling team. In 2004, she won an Olympic silver medal in freestyle, becoming the first American woman to do so. McMann claimed bronze at the 2007 World Championships and won gold at the 2007 Pan American Games, among many other international successes and medals. Since 2010, she has been a top-ranked professional MMA fighter and won the first seven MMA pro fights of her career.

McMann, who has multiple relatives in the Lock Haven area, took to her Facebook page with thanks:

Extremely honored to be 1 of only 4 women wrestlers inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame I have loved wrestling since I was 3 years old, having grown up watching my older brother wrestle in Pennsylvania. I began my own career at 14 and I’ve competed or taught wrestling for the past 27 years. This sport captured my heart and certainly saved my life. I am so thankful to be alongside some of the greatest wrestlers in history