University of Toledo Athletics

Greg Wojciechowski is generally regarded as the greatest wrestler ever at the University of Toledo. Wrestling as a heavyweight, Wojciechowski  won one NCAA title, earned two second-place finishes and was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team.

Wojciechowski began his career with a bang as a sophomore in 1970 (freshmen were not allowed to participate on the varsity in those days). That season, Wojciechowski won 18 of 19 matches, losing only in the championship round of the NCAA Championships. One year later, Wojciechowski became UT's second NCAA heavyweight champion, leading the Rockets to their highest team finish ever at the NCAAs (13^th place). He outscored his opponents 94-15 in matches that went to a decision that season, and went on to win the National AAU title as well. As a senior he won 14 of his 15 matches, with his only defeat coming in the NCAA championship title match to 415-pound Chris Taylor of Iowa State. He finished his intercollegiate career with a record of 55-2 and won three straight MAC heavyweight titles.

He also represented the United State in international wrestling, finishing fourth in the World Wrestling Championships in Edmonton, Canada in 1970. He also represented the U.S. in 1975 and 1976. Wojciechowski competed in the AAU National Freestyle Championships, winning the heavyweight freestyle division eight times as well as the Greco-Roman five times from 1969-79. He also placed fifth in the 1978 world freestyle championships.

Wojciechowski was runner-up at the Olympic Trials and was named an alternate for the U.S. Olympic teams in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1968, 1972 and 1976, and in freestyle in 1972 and 1976 before making the team in 1980. In that year, he won the U.S. Olympic Trials in both the freestyle and Greco-Roman events, the last American heavyweight to sweep both events at the trials. Unfortunately, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics kept Wojciechowski from participating.
 
After graduation from UT, Wojciechowski began his career as a teacher and wrestling coach at Archbold (Ohio) High School in 1972, mentoring John Cowell to a state championship at 126 pounds. He returned to Toledo in 1973 to train for the Olympics. There he taught in the occupational work adjustment programs for drop-out prone youths at Libbey High School, a position he held for 28 years. He taught high school wrestling at Libbey for 11 years and later at Bowsher High School for five years. He was also actively involved in establishing a wrestling program in Ohio middle schools.

After his successful amateur wrestling career, Wojciechowski made the jump to professional wrestling. Known as “The Great Wojo,” Wojciechowski spent 12 years as a professional wrestler, winning three World Wrestling Association heavyweight championship titles. He retired from the WWA as champion in 1987.

Wojciechowski was inducted into the UT Varsity T Hall of Fame in 1978 and the George Tragos and Lou Thesz Pro National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015.