Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2019
Mark DiGirolamo is one of two Cal Poly wrestlers to capture NCAA Division I national championships (the late Tom Kline is the other and he is in the Hall of Fame), claiming the 118-pound title with four decisions and a fall.
Unseeded, DiGirolamo upset No. 3-seeded Johnnie Jones of Iowa State 14-4 in the championship final. He also was an NCAA qualifier as a sophomore in 1975.
At Harbor and Santa Cruz high schools, DiGirolamo captured four straight Northern California Invitational titles, the only wrestler to do so. He also was a high school freestyle national champion in 1969, set the national high school record for wins with his 148-3-2 prep record and was a High School All-American and National Scholastic Honor Roll member in 1972.
He was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Santa Cruz High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.
DiGirolamo also played football and baseball at Harbor. He received a mayor’s proclamation from the City of Santa Cruz in 1976 shortly after capturing the national title.
DiGirolamo is a retired union contractor, working in that profession for 30 years.
Mark, who lives in?Santa Cruz, Calif., and his wife Denise have three children, Mark, Gina and Ted, and three stepchildren, Kendra, Naomi and Phil.
