The Oregon State wrestling team mourns the death of John Dustin, an All-American and National Wrestling Hall of Fame member.
Dustin, a fourth-place finisher at 177 pounds in 1957 and 1958, died last week.
As a Corvallis student-athlete, he went 42-5 before returning to the sport as an assistant at OSU and directing the Marshfield High team from 1962 to 1970. In his prep career, he led the student-athletes to eight individual state championships.
Dustin represented the sport on the international stage. He oversaw wrestling competitions in two Olympic Games, the 1996 Centennial Games in Atlanta and the 2000 Games in Sydney, as well as three editions of the Goodwill Games.
He volunteered for almost every wrestling-related organization imaginable, including USA Wrestling, the Amateur Athletic Union, and FILA.
He was even chosen to officiate three FILA World Championships: in 1966, 1969, and 1971.
Dustin had a global effect and was revered by numerous regulating bodies outside of the United States, including the Asian Wrestling Congress, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, and Taipei.
Domestically, he received a Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the state of Oregon in 2012, followed by the Order of Merit national award the following year.
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