Kent Lange ’50

Kent Lange ’50, a starting member of Cornell College’s storied NCAA and NAAU championship wrestling team, died at age 95 on July 8, 2021.

He was in the Aleutian Islands preparing for discharge from the U.S. Air Force when he got a call from his brother, Lowell Lange ’50, a new recruit to the team, to say they wanted Kent to wrestle for Cornell. Kent Lange arrived during the second semester of the 1946-47 year and wrestled in both 1947 national championships. He went on to become an All-American and four-time Midwest Conference champion, compiling a dual meet record with just three losses. 

Lange met Carol Petersen Lange ’51 during his first week on campus, and they were married in 1949 after his junior year. They lived in Clinton, Iowa, for 65 years and raised four children. Lange coached wrestling at Clinton High School and began the Clinton Junior Wrestling Program. He was an agent at Bankers Life and Casualty Company for 40 years and served as a president of the Clinton Kiwanis. Lange was a 32nd degree Mason and member of the First Congregational Church trustees. In 2014 Kent and Carolyn moved to Centerville, Iowa, to be closer to family. He is survived by their four children, 12 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. 

Lange enjoyed reading, golfing, spending time with his family, and following his grandchildren’s activities.