Women's Wrestling Club

Wrestlers · Career complete

Marcie Van Dusen

2008 Olympian at 55 kg; ended Saori Yoshida of Japan's 119-match winning streak at the 2008 World Cup; 2x U.S. national champion

Lake Arrowhead, CA · Rim of the World HS · University of Colorado Colorado Springs

By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 3, 2026

Marcie Van Dusen grew up in Lake Arrowhead, California, and started wrestling at eight after her brother's coach offered to teach her. She wrestled on the boys' team at Rim of the World High School, two years on junior varsity and two on varsity. She was a captain as a senior, placed fourth at the CIF Southern Section Championships, and made Cadet World teams.

She stepped away from the sport and enrolled at California State University Monterey Bay, then found the Monterey Wrestling Club and coach Roberto Dixon. She placed third at the 2002 U.S. Open and the World Team Trials, made her first national team, and moved to the Olympic Training Center. She earned her degree from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in 2010.

She won the 2004 University World Championships at 59 kg, about 130 pounds, in Lodz, Poland. In 2007 she won the U.S. Nationals at 55 kg and made her first Senior World team, placing tenth in Baku. At the Pan American Games in Rio she took silver, beating Tonya Verbeek of Canada. In January 2008 she ended Saori Yoshida of Japan's 119-match winning streak at the World Cup.

She won the U.S. Nationals again in April 2008, then won four matches in Edmonton to qualify the United States for Beijing. She swept Sally Roberts of the Gator Wrestling Club at the Olympic Team Trials. In Beijing she beat Nataliya Synyshyn of Ukraine, lost to Jackeline Renteria of Colombia, and placed ninth.

Menlo College later hired her as head coach, calling her the first woman to lead an intercollegiate wrestling program. She entered the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

She coaches as Marcie Lane and runs the girls' wrestling program at Sheridan High School in Wyoming, which she helped start once the state sanctioned it. The National Wrestling Coaches Association named her its 2026 Section 8 girls' head coach of the year.

Results

SeasonLevelEventWeightPlaceNote
1999-2000High schoolCIF Southern Section Championships4thShe wrestled on the Rim of the World boys' team, two years on junior varsity and two on varsity, and was a captain as a senior. Her own account places the fourth-place CIF Southern Section finish in her senior year, and a 2012 themat.com feature gives her graduation year as 2000. The weight class is not given on the pages read.
2002SeniorU.S. Open, Las Vegas3rdHer first Senior tournament after high school. She also placed third at the World Team Trials that year, which put her on her first national team. The weight class is not given on the pages read.
2004SeniorUniversity World Championships, Lodz59 kg1stJune 3-6, 2004, in Lodz, Poland. USA Wrestling reports she won at 59 kg, outscored her four opponents 19-4 and beat Volha Serbina of Belarus 6-0 in the gold-medal match. The title came at 59 kg, four years before she made the Olympic team at 55 kg.
2005SeniorSummer Universiade, Izmir55 kg3rd
2007SeniorU.S. Nationals, Las Vegas55 kg1stThe title carried an automatic berth into the best-of-three finals of the World Team Trials. The California Wrestling Hall of Fame page also names her the Outstanding Wrestler of the 2007 U.S. Nationals.
2007SeniorWorld Championships, Baku55 kg10thHer first Senior World team. Saori Yoshida of Japan won the class.
2007SeniorPan American Games, Rio de Janeiro55 kg2ndJuly 26, 2007. She beat Tahamara Barron of Mexico 7-1, 8-0, then came back from a 7-0 first period to beat Tonya Verbeek of Canada 2-1, 7-2 in the semifinal. She met Jackeline Renteria of Colombia in the final. The silver is recorded on her Olympedia page.
2008SeniorWorld Cup, Taiyuan, China55 kgJanuary 2008. She beat Saori Yoshida of Japan, ending a 119-match winning streak. The win sparked a 4-3 U.S. victory over Japan in the Pool A round robin, which put the United States in the final against China. The pages read do not give the final result.
2008SeniorU.S. Nationals, Las Vegas55 kg1stA May 21, 2008 themat.com report says she won the U.S. Nationals the previous month in Las Vegas, which dates the title to April 2008, and that it earned her an automatic spot in the best-of-three finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The California Wrestling Hall of Fame and Menlo College bios both call her a two-time national champion. No opponent is given on the pages read.
2008SeniorWomen's Olympic Qualifying Tournament No. 1, Edmonton55 kgqualified the U.S.4-0. May 2008. She beat Sylwia Bilenska of Poland 5-0, 2-0, Alka Tomar of India 8-1, 3-2 and Ying-tzu Su of Chinese Taipei 7-0, 7-0, then pinned Ana Maria Paval of Romania at 1:05 in the semifinal. Reaching the final qualified the United States at 55 kg for Beijing. She did not wrestle the final against Marcia Andrade of Venezuela.
2008SeniorU.S. Olympic Team Trials, Las Vegas55 kg1stJune 13, 2008, at the Thomas and Mack Center. She won both matches of the best-of-three finals series against Sally Roberts of the Gator Wrestling Club, 1-2, 1-0, 3-0 and 0-1, 1-0, 1-0 in period scores.
2008SeniorOlympic Games, Beijing55 kg9thAug. 16, 2008. She beat Nataliya Synyshyn of Ukraine in the first round and lost to Jackeline Renteria of Colombia in the quarterfinals. Renteria did not reach the final, so Van Dusen was not eligible for the repechage.

What we could not confirm

Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.

Sources

  1. https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/117001 · Born June 25, 1982, in Lake Arrowhead, Calif.; Sunkist Kids; ninth at the 2008 Olympic Games at 55 kg; 2005 Izmir Universiade bronze at 55 kg; 2007 Rio de Janeiro Pan American Games silver at 55 kg
  2. https://www.olympedia.org/results/263499 · 2008 Olympic 55 kg bracket: Van Dusen beat Nataliya Synyshyn (Ukraine) in round one and lost to Jackeline Renteria (Colombia) in the quarterfinals, finishing ninth; her 2008 World Cup win ended Saori Yoshida's 119-match winning streak
  3. https://s3.amazonaws.com/cliffkeen/Marcie.pdf · First-person account: started wrestling at 8 after her brother's coach Dave Chapman offered to teach her; two years junior varsity and two years varsity on the boys' team, team captain and fourth at the CIF Southern Section as a senior; Cadet World teams before graduating; California State University Monterey Bay; Monterey Wrestling Club under Roberto Dixon; third at the 2002 U.S. Open and third at the World Team Trials for her first national team; moved to the Olympic Training Center; won the 2007 U.S. Nationals and made her first World team; beat Saori Yoshida at the 2008 World Cup; won the 2008 Olympic Trials over Sally Roberts; ninth in Beijing
  4. https://www.californiawrestlinghalloffame.com/2018-honorees/ · California Wrestling Hall of Fame 2018 class, listed as Marcie (Van Dusen) Lane: two-time Cadet bronze medalist while wrestling at Rim of the World High School; five-time U.S. National Team member; two-time U.S. National and World Team Trials champion; Outstanding Wrestler at the 2007 U.S. Nationals; Pan American Games silver in Rio de Janeiro; 2008 World Cup; 2008 Olympic team; 2013 USA Wrestling Woman of the Year
  5. https://menloathletics.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/coaches/marcie-vandusen/88 · Menlo College hire as head coach, the first female head coach of an intercollegiate wrestling program: eight years on the U.S. National Team, 2008 Olympic team and ninth in Beijing, 2004 World University champion, 2008 World Cup gold medalist, 2007 World Team member, two-time national champion; instructor at Rim of the World Wrestling Club in her native Lake Arrowhead, Calif.; graduated from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2010 with a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies
  6. https://www.themat.com/news/2008/january/21/van-dusen-stuns-olympic-and-wo-17836 · Jan. 2008 World Cup in Taiyuan, China: Van Dusen upset five-time World champion and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Saori Yoshida at 55 kg, snapping a 119-match winning streak and sparking a 4-3 U.S. win over Japan; the U.S. advanced to face China in the final
  7. https://www.themat.com/news/2008/may/21/updated--marcie-van-dusen-deli-18703 · May 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament in Edmonton: four wins including 5-0, 2-0 over Sylwia Bilenska (Poland), 8-1, 3-2 over Alka Tomar (India), 7-0, 7-0 over Ying-tzu Su (Chinese Taipei) and a fall over Ana Maria Paval (Romania) at 1:05; reaching the final qualified the U.S. at 55 kg; she did not wrestle the final against Marcia Andrade (Venezuela); she was 10th at the 2007 World Championships and won the 2008 U.S. Nationals; she won the U.S. Nationals the month before, in Las Vegas
  8. https://www.themat.com/news/2008/may/16/american-marcie-van-dusen-rece-18698 · Draw and background for the first 2008 women's Olympic qualifier: Van Dusen needed a top-two finish at 55 kg; she was second to Tonya Verbeek at the 2008 Pan American Championships and 10th at the 2007 World Championships
  9. https://www.themat.com/news/2008/june/18/chun-stuns-miranda-on-night-of-18918 · June 13, 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas: Van Dusen took two straight matches from two-time World bronze medalist Sally Roberts to make the Olympic team
  10. https://tech-fall.com/2008INT/08OTResults.html · 2008 Olympic Trials championship results: Women's freestyle 55 kg, 1st Marcie Van Dusen (Sunkist Kids), 2nd Sally Roberts (Gator WC); both finals matches won on period scores 1-2, 1-0, 3-0 and 0-1, 1-0, 1-0
  11. https://www.themat.com/news/2007/july/26/van-dusen--mcmann--marano-land-16983 · 2007 Pan American Games semifinals in Rio de Janeiro: Van Dusen beat Tahamara Barron (Mexico) 7-1, 8-0 and Tonya Verbeek (Canada) 0-7, 2-1, 7-2, and met Jackeline Renteria (Colombia) in the final at 55 kg
  12. https://www.themat.com/news/2007/april/17/15-of-21-u-s--nationals-champi-16575 · 2007 U.S. Nationals champions in women's freestyle included Marcie Van Dusen at 55 kg, with the title carrying an automatic berth into the best-of-three World Team Trials finals
  13. https://www.themat.com/news/2010/august/30/2010-world-championships-previ-22431 · 2007 World Championships final placings at 55 kg list Marcie Van Dusen of the United States 10th; 2008 Olympic Games placings list her ninth; Yoshida lost to Van Dusen at the 2008 World Cup
  14. https://www.themat.com/news/2007/march/28/u-s--nationals-women-s-preview-16478 · March 2007 U.S. Nationals preview at 55 kg: Van Dusen was ranked No. 1 by TheMat.com, a past University World champion who had not yet made a Senior World team
  15. https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/olympics-blog/story/2008-08-07/wrestler-marcie-van-dusen-still-grappling-for-respect · Aug. 7, 2008 Beijing feature: her World Cup win over Saori Yoshida was Yoshida's first loss in 120 matches; hometown Lake Arrowhead; she competed on the boys' wrestling team at Rim of the World High and also lettered in soccer and volleyball; her older brother T.J. got her into the sport
  16. https://www.thesheridanpress.com/sports/local-sports/former-olympian-guides-girls-at-new-shs-wrestling-program/article_9e6d01ac-878e-11ed-b691-23a1daa0e755.html · Marcie Van Dusen now goes by Marcie Lane and joined the Sheridan High School wrestling staff in Wyoming, where girls' wrestling was added once the Wyoming High School Activities Association sanctioned it
  17. https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/5/12/national-wrestling-coaches-association-nwca-announces-2026-usmc-battles-won-girls-section-head-coach-of-the-year-winners.aspx · May 12, 2026: Marcie Lane of Sheridan High School, Wyoming, named the NWCA 2026 USMC Battles Won Girls Section 8 Head Coach of the Year; 10 seasons at Sheridan and 15 years coaching; her 2025-26 team produced eight state qualifiers and three place winners. CONFLICT: the Sheridan Press story in this list, published the first winter Wyoming sanctioned girls' wrestling, says she joined the Sheridan staff the season before, which would make 2025-26 her fifth season there rather than her tenth. The tenure figure is not used in the profile
  18. https://www.themat.com/news/2004/june/07/van-dusen-and-lee-win-golds--w-10147 · June 3-6, 2004 University World Championships in Lodz, Poland: Marcie Van Dusen (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) won gold at 59 kg/130 lbs., outscoring her four opponents 19-4, including a 6-0 win over Volha Serbina of Belarus in the gold-medal match
  19. https://www.themat.com/news/2012/september/14/olympian-marcie-van-dusen-join-25525 · Sept. 2012 USA Wrestling feature: Van Dusen graduated from Rim of the World High School in 2000, lived and trained at the Olympic Training Center from 2002 to 2008, was University World champion in 2004 and U.S. World Team Trials champion in 2005, 2007 and 2008, and coached the Menlo College women's team from 2010 to 2012

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