In anticipation for the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame this October, GoColumbiaLions.com is taking a look at the teams, student-athletes, coaches and staff members that are set to be inducted. Our next installment features the winningest head coach in Columbia Wrestling history.

Ron Russo

A champion on the mat and on the sidelines as a coach, Ron Russo had a lasting impact on Columbia wrestling.

Russo got his start in collegiate wrestling at Bloomsburg, where he competed for the Huskies in the late 1960s. Although he struggled with his vision and was vertically challenged at just 5'4", Russo picked the right sport, becoming a two-time All-American. The 137-pounder took sixth place at the 1968 NCAA Championships, before a fourth place finish at NCAAs and an NAIA National Championship the following year.

In 1973, he became the head coach of a Columbia program that Jerry Seckler led to 12 and nine dual wins the previous two seasons. During his tenure, Russo led Columbia to three Ivy League titles while overseeing two All-Americans, five New York State Champions, and 92 All-Ivy League performers.

Under Russo, Steve Hasenfus earned Ivy League Wrestler of the Year accolades in 1989, while Chris Kane was the 1984 Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Russo is the all-time winningest coach in Columbia wrestling history, as the Lions racked up 133 wins during his 18-year tenure.

After his last season with the Lions in 1991, Russo moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan when his wife, Diane, was hired as the women's track & field coach at Western Michigan. Russo spent a couple of years as a wrestling referee in the area, before learning a local high school, Kalamazoo Central, would be shutting down its wrestling program.

Russo volunteered at Kalamazoo Central in order to keep the program afloat, and decided at the time that he would spend 3-4 years as the Maroon Giants head coach. 20 years later, the head coach of a once failing program retired during the 2015 season, as Kalamazoo Central had a 9-2 record. During his tenure, the Maroon Giants put up more than 200 dual wins, along with five conference titles and four district championships.

In April of 2015, Russo was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Long Island Chapter, for his years of dedication to the development of leadership and citizenship in young people through the sport of wrestling.