OREM, Utah – Former Utah Valley head wrestling coach Greg Williams will be inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame on Saturday in Laguna Hills, Calif. It will be the second time he will be honored for his accomplishments at the state level after being inducted into the Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame last October.
 
Williams hails from San Diego, where he attended University High School. In wrestling, he won national and state titles in his age group before winning the 1979 California State Championship before going to wrestle at Utah State.
 
While in Logan, he was a three-time NCAA qualifier and earned All-American status in 1984 with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. In his entire Aggie career, he won over 100 matches and was honored as the 1984 Athlete of the Year by Utah State.
 
He later coached at Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah, finishing his career with an 87-8 dual record. He also started and served as the Elite Wrestling Club's head coach of the Utah National Wrestling Team. He helped aid in the development of over 70 high school All-Americans.
 
During his 18-year career leading the Wolverines, Williams coached the first five All-Americans in program history, including Ben Kjar who became the first to achieve the feat when he reached the semifinals, and placed fourth in 2011. Under his guidance, Jade Rauser (2016), Tate Orndorff (2020), Taylor LaMont (2021), and Demetrius Romero (2021) also earned All-American honors.
 
Starting in 2009, the year Utah Valley became a full NCAA Division I member and eligible for the NCAA postseason, Williams helped produce 46 NCAA qualifiers. The first three came in the first year of eligibility in 2010, as Kjar, Flint Ray, and Brad Darrington earned berths and won matches at the NCAA Championships. Williams also coached three four-time NCAA qualifiers: Rauser, LaMont, and Romero.
 
Ahead of the 2015-2016 season, he led Utah Valley into one of the best wrestling conferences when they accepted an invitation to the Big 12. UVU made an immediate impact with an upset over No. 18 Oregon State and earned its first-ever votes in the top 25 polls.
 
Williams is now a member of the California and Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame, along with receiving the Bronze Wolverine Award, which is the highest award given by Utah Valley Athletics.