At seven years of age, Daniel Mayo wrote to Dan Gable following his 1972 Olympic gold medal performance in Munich. In the letter, he told Gable he wanted to be an Olympic wrestler just like him. It was apparent at that early age, Mayo had his sights set on being the best wrestler in the world.

His journey would begin as a 5th grader attending high school wrestling practice at Sachem High School with his older brother Joey, who was a member of the Class of ’77 wrestling team. Eventually, Mayo would realize how fortunate he was to have been around one of the nation’s best coaches in Jack Mahoney at such a young age. This positive experience as a kid paved the way as Daniel Mayo would become one of the nations most accomplished wrestlers in both folkstyle and freestyle.

Daniel also excelled as a D1 coach, helping to produce many All-Americans along the way. Wrestling has taken Mayo all around the world, and all those who have worked with him have benefited from his passion, positivity, kindness, and mental toughness.  

Daniel graduated from Sachem High School in 1983 as a 1st Team All-American, and National & State Champion, who was fortunate enough to become a Nittany Lion for Rich Lorenzo at the Pennsylvania State University. During his time at Penn State, Mayo would become a two-time Div. 1 All-American, 1988 NCAA Finalist and a 3rd place finisher in 1987. His ’87 team would become the Nation’s #1 Dual Meet Team and Mayo returned as the ’88 Team Captain. But his time at Penn State did not go without challenges and hills to climb. As a freshman, Mayo would have success right off the bat by defeating All-American Pete Capone of Hofstra, who would become an NCAA Finalist months later. He then squared off with the nation’s #1 wrestler in senior Jim Scherr of Nebraska, falling to Scherr in a last second thriller. Along with his coaches, Daniel Mayo knew that being the best in the world was a reality and that was the expectation, nothing less. On January 13, 1984, Mayo’s life would take a major hit as he suffered a severe ankle break that would require multiple surgery’s and nearly 2 years off the mat. His return to the mat as a redshirt sophomore was challenging to say the least, but because he was surrounded by a great group of teammates, coaches, and medical staff, this allowed him to realize his goals were still a reality but with a slightly different path. Mayo’s career at PSU ended up with him being inducted into the prestigious Eastern Wrestling Hall of Fame as a 3-Time Conference Champion, only losing one conference match in his career, which was by medical forfeit.  

After his loss to Royce Alger in the 1988 NCAA Finals, Mayo graduated and moved to Washington D.C. to work on Capitol Hill, while Alger was placing 2nd in the Freestyle World Championships. At that point, Mayo realized it was time to continue that journey to being the best in the world. Penn State University was his next stop as a graduate assistant, which allowed him the opportunity to begin competing on the senior level as a member of the New York Athletic Club, NYC. The NYAC afforded Mayo the opportunity to compete in major international events where he made his mark by beating many world medalist and NCAA Champions. This caught the attention of Olympic Gold Medalist Dave Shultz, who was competing for FOXCATCHER.  Dave extended an invitation to visit Foxcatcher to meet with John duPont and to discuss joining him to train for the ’92 Barcelona Games. Mayo was a member of Team Foxcatcher from 1990-96. Looking back at his time on the farm, Daniel is grateful for the time he spent with Shultz and for having the opportunity to travel and wrestle against the best in the world, as he earned a spot-on Team USA in ’92 & ’94 at 90KG. Defeating World Champion Chris Campbell at the ’91 US Open was an accomplishment not many have ever achieved: Daniel Mayo beat the best wrestler in the world.

While he achieved many personal accomplishments throughout his wrestling career, it was working with legendary coach Gary Taylor at Rider University that gave him great satisfaction by allowing him to instill his knowledge onto younger wrestlers. In a way, it was giving back to the sport he loved. As an assistant coach at Rider University, Mayo was a key to their success as they won 5 Conference Titles in 6 seasons, while producing many All-American wrestlers.

Over the last ten years, Daniel Mayo has taken time to reflect on his career accomplishments, and there are memories that this great sport has given him that he thinks about every single day. While Mayo would like to thank all the people who have helped him along the way, he would like to acknowledge a few individuals that have made a major impact on his life: 

• Thank you, Rich Lorenzo, for being the role model I needed and always encouraging me to reach for the stars.

• Joe Bastardi, thanks for showing me the way on and off the mat as a coach, but more importantly as a friend.

• Referee great Tom Riccio, telling me he loves my heart and fight out on the mat. Coming from him, it meant something special to me and I think about it every day.

• Dan Gable, thanks for allowing me to train in your room post college, and more importantly, thanks for your kindness.

• To all my PSU teammates, you guys continue to amaze me with all that you continue to accomplish.

• Thank you, Gary Taylor, for your friendship.                 

When you look at Daniel Mayo’s outstanding accomplishments throughout the sport of wrestling, it was his passion and drive to be the best that stood out even more than his tremendous athletic ability. He has given his heart and soul to the sport of wrestling…and all those he has touched are better off for it. It is our honor and privilege to welcome Daniel Mayo into the Downstate NY chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his lifetime commitment to the sport of wrestling.