WRESTLING FACTS

• Wrestling, mankind's oldest and most basic form of recreational combat, traces its origins back to the dawn of civilization. Carvings and drawings estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000 years old, found in caves in southern Europe, illustrate wrestlers in hold and leverage positions.

• Wrestling prominent in the world's oldest piece of written literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh.

• One of the most famous of the Greek wrestlers was the philosopher, Plato, who won many prizes for wrestling as a young man. His real name was Aristocles, but because of his success, he was given the name Plato, meaning ''broad shoulders.''

• Wrestling mentioned in the Bible - Jacob wrestled with an angel of God. (Genesis Chapter 32)

• During the Napoleonic period, the French developed a style which today is identified as Greco-Roman. No hold on or with the legs is permitted, nor is tripping allowed.

• Both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were accomplished wrestlers in their day. Abraham Lincoln was the wrestling champion of his county as early as 1830, at the age of 21. At the age of 47, ten years before he became the first President of the United States, the Commander of the Continental Armies still had enough left to defeat seven consecutive challengers from the Massachusetts Volunteers.

• Danny Hodge (the namesake of the Hodge Trophy) held in one 10-day span in his junior year, the NCAA title and National AAU championships in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, winning every bout in those tournaments by fall. After his collegiate wrestling career, Hodge won national Golden Gloves and National AAU championships in boxing, becoming the first athlete in more than 50 years to win national titles in both sports.