Dan Morrison
Dan Morrison was one of most accomplished wrestlers ever to come from the mat hotbed at Reynolds High School, a true pinning machine his whole career.
He culminated a brilliant scholastic career as state runner-up in 1977, when he posted a 29-4 record with 21 falls. He received the Reynolds VFW Sportsmanship Award that year. He was the last wrestler coached by legendary Neal Lineman in the PIAA state finals.
Dan had a phenomenal mat career at three different colleges, posting an overall record of 105 wins and only 3 losses. A total of 87 wins came by fall. He was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler at 8 different tournaments.After one semester at Wilkes College he transferred to Messiah College. He was the 158-pound National Christian College Athletic Association national champion and voted Outstanding Wrestler in 1978-79. He was NAIA national runner-up and finished the year with a 30-1 record. At Messiah in 1979-80, he won the NCCAA and NAIA national titles, named OW. In the NAIA finals he defeated Wisconsin Parkside's Bob Gruner, who beat Dan the previous year in the finals. He finished his career at Messiah with a 62-1 record, transferring for his senior year to Rider University. He won numerous tournaments at 167 and was ranked No. 2 or 3 on various polls behind Dave Shultz, national champ and Olympic Gold Medalist who was highlighted in the "Foxcatcher" movie.
He defeated several Division I All-Americans his senior season. He was seeded third for NCAA Division I Nationals, but was upset in the second round at a time when full wrestlebacks weren't established. He finished the season at 40-1 with 30 falls or forfeits.
From 1982-84 he competed with Athletes In Action and also performed well in freestyle tourneys. He served as Rider College graduate assistant coach in 1984-85. He has helped coach freestyle programs as well as serving as volunteer coach at Reynolds.