1981 Randy Lewis (Iowa) vs Jim Gibbons (Iowa State) 126 pounds (injury loss)

Randy Lewis injury loss to Jim Gibbons
The 134-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships had all kinds of twists and turns. Here are five things you need to know about the bracket.

Jim Gibbons “Ames” High
Jim Gibbons — the eventual winner of the bracket — owns a unique piece of history. He is the only wrestler to win an individual state title, an individual NCAA title, and he's the only person to coach an NCAA team championship for schools located in the same town.

Gibbons won state titles for Ames High School from 1975-77 before winning an NCAA championship at Iowa State (located in Ames) in 1981. He led Iowa State to an NCAA team championship in 1987 — the most recent NCAA team wrestling championship for the Cyclones. Gibbons was born in Waterloo, Iowa, but he claims Ames as his hometown. Can you blame him with a record like that?

He was also the second wrestler to defeat two returning NCAA champions on his way to the title. The former Iowa State star currently serves as an on-air commentator for the Big Ten Network.

A glitch in “The Matrix”
No wrestler finished eighth, which is the lowest place given at the NCAA Championships. A double forfeit on the consolation side meant someone would get seventh without wrestling a match.

The recipient was two-time returning NCAA champion and 1980 Olympian Randy Lewis. Lewis — who eventually won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics — suffered a gruesome injury earlier in the year when he dislocated his elbow during his match against Gibbons in the Iowa-Iowa State dual. Gibbons defeated Lewis, 13-6, in the quarterfinals and eventually won the tournament. Lewis won his first consolation match and was pinned by Kentucky's Ricky Dellagatta in 26 seconds during his second match.

Lewis's injury was so severe that he planned on defaulting his seventh-place bout but no one was there due to the double forfeit earlier in the tournament — so he placed seventh.

Oops, there it is
Jim Gibbons’s NCAA tournament bracket has a noticeable error. Ken Gallagher’s 4-1 win over Bernie Fritz for fifth is listed on the 134-pound bracket. Here’s the thing: Gallagher (Northern Iowa) and Fritz (Penn State) competed in the 142-pound weight class. It should have shown Eddie Baza’s 4-1 win over Clar Anderson.

Future Cowboy. Future Hawk.
The top quarter of the bracket featured two recognizable names from two powerhouse programs: Oklahoma State and Iowa. However, in 1981, they were competing for different schools.

Clar Anderson was a freshman for Auburn and Harlan Kistler was a junior for Arizona State. Anderson placed sixth in 1981 while Kistler did not place.

Anderson transferred to Oklahoma State the following season where he held down the 134-pound spot for the Cowboys for three straight years, winning a title in 1983 and placing fifth in 1984.

Kistler qualified for the NCAA Championships at three different weight classes and three different schools.

1979: UCLA, DNP at 126 pounds
1980: UCLA, sixth at 134 pounds
1981: Arizona State, DNP at 134 pounds
1983: Iowa, third at 142 pounds

Standing the test of time
The collective credentials of the participants in the 134-pound bracket continue to keep it in the conversation as one of the toughest brackets in college wrestling history. Four different wrestlers won a total of six NCAA titles.

Below are the finals placings from the 1981 tournament plus NCAA champions, World teamers, and Olympians that came out of the bracket.

Final placings
First: Jim Gibbons (Iowa State)
Second: Darryl Burley (Lehigh)
Third: Ricky Dellagatta (Kentucky)
Fourth: Dalen Wasmund (Minnesota)
Fifth: Eddie Baza (San Jose State)
Sixth: Clar Anderson (Auburn)
Seventh: Randy Lewis (Iowa)
Eighth: Not Awarded

NCAA champions from the bracket
Randy Lewis (Iowa): 1979, 1980
Darryl Burley (Lehigh): 1979, 1983
Jim Gibbons (Iowa State): 1981
Clar Anderson (Auburn/Oklahoma State): 1983

World teamers from the bracket
Randy Lewis (MFS): 1978, 1982
Johnnie Selmon (GR): 1982
Dalen Wasmund (GR): 1985, 1987

Olympians from the bracket
Randy Lewis (MFS): 1980 (US boycott), 1984 (gold)