San Francisco State University

Now entering his 28th season as head coach at his alma mater, Lars Jensen has become synonymous with the success of the San Francisco wrestling program. Since taking the reins prior to the 1983-84 season, Jensen has maintained a tradition of excellence, with the Gators finishing among the nation’s elite in NCAA Division II wrestling on an annual basis. In 1997, Jensen coached the first-ever NCAA Division II national championship team at SF State.

In 2009-10, the Gators competed at the NCAA Division II Championships for the 47th consecutive year as five SF State wrestlers qualified for the national meet. Seniors Vince Bordi (197 lbs.), Steve Franklin (285 lbs.), junior Josh Nolan (149 lbs.) sophomore Naveed Bagheri (133 lbs.) and freshman Zach Jimenez (184 lbs.) all punched their ticket to the national championships after placing in the top three of their respective weight classes at the 2010 NCAA Division II Super Regional 4/Rocky Mountain Athletic Association Championships, where SF State finished fourth out of 11 schools. At the national meet, Franklin received All-America recognition for the second straight year after a sixth-place finish, as the Gators placed 25th out of 39 teams. With SF State’s results, Jensen has now coached 56 All-Americans during his tenure to go along with nine national champions, 103 Division II national qualifiers and three Division I national qualifiers.

Jensen’s athletes have also excelled in the classroom as four Gator wrestlers earned All-Academic accolades in 2010 from the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Senior Markham Bertron was a second-team honoree, while fellow classmates Lucas Duckwall, Jamil Smart and Ian Wrenn each received honorable mention, giving Jensen 43 Academic All-NWCA selections since his arrival at SF State.

As a team, the Gators finished the 2009-10 campaign with a 5-9 record in dual-meet competition, featuring a 3-0 mark at the Grand Canyon Duals and a trip to the prestigious NWCA National Dual Meet in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

In addition to its 1997 national title, SF State also captured the Division II West Regional championship that same year and finished in the runner-up position on four other occasions. In all, Jensen’s Gator squads have produced 39 Northern California Athletic Conference champions and 16 RMAC champions. He also guided six NCAC runner-up teams and two NCAC championship squads.

Jensen began his wrestling career at the College of San Mateo where he was named the team’s outstanding wrestler for two seasons before transferring to SF State in 1977. A two-time letterwinner for the Gators, Jensen qualified for the 1980 NCAA Division II Championships after capturing the West Regional title at 190 pounds. Later that year, he also participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Jensen then made the transition to the coaching ranks, serving as SF State assistant varsity coach and junior varsity head coach from 1980-83.

Jensen received a bachelor of arts degree in physical education in January 1981, a single subject teaching credential in physical education in May 1982 and a masters in physical education in May 1987, all from SF State.

In May 2009, Jensen was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Jensen has been married to the former Chanda Sams for 21 years and has two children, Brendan (17) and Lara (14). The Jensens reside in El Granada, Calif.