Several great athletes have gone through the Michigan State University wrestling program. None had a career quite like Gregory Monroe Johnson.

Growing up in Lansing, Mich., Johnson won two state wrestling championships for Everett High School. After graduation, he chose to stay close to home to attend Michigan State and wound up leading his team to one of its most successful runs in school history.

The Spartans won three consecutive Big Ten titles and placed in the top three at the NCAA tournament from 1970-1972. Johnson was a defining factor throughout much of that success.

Despite all of his accolades, his career under legendary coach Grady Peninger got off to a shaky start. Peninger called his star pupil the physically toughest wrestler he ever coached, and there is a good reason why.

He sat out the 1967-68 season as a true freshman, and was unable to compete the next year because of a broken ankle. The following summer, he fractured his leg and missed the first six weeks of the 1969-70 season.

But Johnson showed his resolve. His sophomore debut was a dual meet victory in January of 1970, but he dropped the second match of his season to Oklahoma State’s Ray Stapp. The MSU sophomore cruised through the remainder of the season without a loss, picking up his first Big 10 title and winning the 118-pound NCAA championship with a referee’s decision over Stapp in the finals.

The Spartans’ lightest wrestler made his biggest impact over the remaining two seasons. He picked up Big Ten championships in 1971 and 1972, along with two more NCAA tournament titles. He became the first Big Ten wrestler to win three NCAA titles in conference history and is also Michigan State’s only three-time NCAA wrestling champion in program history.

His coaching career included positions at Clarion State University, University of Utah, University of Illinois, and Alfred State Junior College. He coached Kevin Puebla to All-America honors in 1979. Johnson was also involved in Australia’s New South Wales Wrestling Federation during the mid-1980s.

In 2001, at age 52, Johnson passed away from a rare blood disorder.

For showing his resolve through difficult circumstances, Greg Johnson is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.