Pat Christenson attended Oak Creek High School in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Not many people had heard of Pat as a wrestler when he graduated from Oak Creek in 1972, as he never placed in a State Tournament. But, by the time Pat had graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1976, anyone associated with collegiate wrestling and particularly the Badger fans back home, knew of the Christenson name.

As a freshman Pat earned a partial scholarship based on a third place finish in the Junior National Tournament. At the University of Wisconsin he was a model student-athlete earning the Big Ten Medal for Athletic and Academic achievement.

On the mats Pat was an outstanding example of hard work and dedication as he steadily developed into a quality collegiate wrestler. He placed in the Big Ten three years, 4th in 1973, 3rd in 1947 and 1976. As a senior he was a representative in the East-West All Star Classic as well as being named Co-Captain of the Badger Team.

Pat capped his career with the NCAA Championship as he defeated 3 seeded wrestlers on his way to the title. He finished with a 97-32-2 record with 32 falls in his career.

Pat coached briefly at Waunakee High School and quickly took that program to a state runner-up finish in 1980. His teams earned 3 Capitol Conference Championships along with a Regional and Sectional Championship.

Since 1980 Pat has worked for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas as assistant director of the 18,500 seat Thomas & Mack Center and the 32,000 seat Sam Boyd Silver Bowl. In that time he earned his Masters Degree in Public Administration from UNLV. Recently he was promoted to UNLV Associate Athletic Director and Director of both facilities. He has also served as the State of Nevada USWF Chairman as well as the UNLV Assistant Wrestling Coach.

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