ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club has added three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer to its senior-level freestyle roster, the club announced on Tuesday (April 21). Dieringer, the 2016 Hodge Trophy winner, has been on the U.S. National Team each of the last four years and will compete internationally in the 86kg/189-pound freestyle weight class in the Olympic year.

“Alex is one of the most dominant NCAA wrestlers in recent decades,” said Michigan head coach Sean Bormet. “He is an explosive scorer and has some exceptional skillsets that have transitioned to International success. He is currently one of the top-rated wrestlers in the world, a serious gold medal contender and is a tremendous addition to our existing group of senior level wrestlers. I have always been impressed with Alex’s character and his approach to training and competing. We are eager for his arrival to Ann Arbor and to get to work.”

Dieringer captured three NCAA titles during his career at Oklahoma State (2013-16), winning at 157 pounds as a sophomore (2014) before claiming back-to-back 165-pound titles in 2015 and 2016. Following his senior season, he was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy, presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate wrestler. He was a four-time NCAA All-American, taking third place at 157 pounds as a freshman (2013).

Dieringer compiled a stellar 133-4 record in college, including a perfect 66-0 mark over his last two seasons, and earned bonus points in more than 70 percent of his wins with 45 career falls. He was a four-time Big 12 champion, becoming just the seventh wrestler in Cowboy program history to win four conference titles, and, in 2016, was named Oklahoma State’s Male Athlete of the Year.

A four-year member of the U.S. National Freestyle Team since his college graduation, Dieringer has excelled internationally at the senior level, capturing gold medals at the Yasar Dogu, Dan Kolov and Medved International tournaments and bronze at the Yarygin Grand Prix and, most recently, claiming silver at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone International, a UWW Ranking Series event.

Dieringer captured the U.S. Open freestyle title at 79kg/174 pounds in 2019 and previously took third at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He is a two-time Junior World Team member (2012, ’13), capturing world silver at 74 kg/163 pounds in 2013 — the same year that Bormet helped coach the U.S. junior world team.

Originally from Port Washington, Wisconsin, Dieringer will relocate to Ann Arbor in June.