Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame
Van Jason Albaugh, from the moment you stepped on the Wabash campus, you were easily recognized as a wrestler. You walked like a wrestler, talked like a wrestler, and you certainly proved you were a wrestler on the mat. Coach Max Servies recruited you from Frankfort High School, and together with teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Chris Ervin, you rewrote the school’s illustrious record book. A four-year letterman, you were named the team’s Most Valuable Wrestler as a sophomore. You were team co-captain as a junior and senior. Three times you qualified for nationals.
Your impact was immediate and undeniable. As a freshman, you posted a 34-5 record and qualified for the national championships. The following year, you were the team’s Most Valuable Wrestler; that was the year you pinned five consecutive opponents in a span of just over three minutes. You overcame two serious shoulder injuries as a junior to post an 18-2-1 record, and your 10 wins by fall that year was the most on the team. You didn’t give up a point in winning your second Little State Championship that year, and you were honored as the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler for your efforts. As a senior, you were 16-1 for the best win-loss percentage ever at 142 pounds. Over the course of your career, you posted a record of 104-15-4, becoming only the third wrestler in history to have won 100 matches. Coach Servies’ teams, ably captained by you and Ervin, posted a four-year dual meet record of 80-7-2. A psychology major and member of Theta Delta Chi, you went on to finish second in your class at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
And you earned a bronze medal at the 2001 World Police and Fire Games. For your exemplary wrestling career, the National Association of Wabash Men is proud to induct you, Van Jason Albaugh, in the Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame.
