Oberlin College Athletics

James Friedrich, born October 17, 1956, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, to John and Anita Friedrich, Friedrich graduated from Oberlin College in 1978 with a B.A. in psychology. He attained a 3.78 cumulative grade-point average and won a Danforth Fellowship (a four-year doctoral fellowship to support the training of future liberal arts professors). Friedrich earned four letters as a member of the Oberlin College wrestling team and was captain of the 1976-77 and 1977-78 squads. During his freshman season, he compiled a 22-2-1 overall record and won the 150-pound Ohio Athletic Conference title. He went on to the Division III national championships that year and earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish. During his sophomore and junior seasons, Friedrich placed second at the Ohio Athletic Conference championships and advanced to the Division III national championships. He placed fourth in the OAC championships his senior year due to an injury default. Friedrich used the Danforth Fellowship to attend the University of Michigan, where he earned a master's degree in education with a concentration in counseling, and a Ph.D. in social psychology. He spent four years teaching in the Psychology Department at Mount Saint Mary's College (Maryland) before moving on to the Psychology Department at the University of Puget Sound, where he currently holds the rank of associate professor. Since leaving Oberlin, he has remained involved in wrestling. While working at Saint Mary's College, Friedrich spent four seasons as an assistant wrestling coach at Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania). He now serves as a volunteer assistant with the Pacific Lutheran University wrestling team. Friedrich and his wife, Colleen, have a 21-month-old daughter, Shealyn.