Dan Russell was a four-time NCAA Division II national champion and a four-time Academic All-American for Portland State University from 1988-91 and was an alternate for the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

In the first match that Pat Smith of Oklahoma State University wrestled, Dan pinned him.

Pat went on to become the first four-time NCAA Division I champion and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2006.