Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association: Recent Episodes
Patrick Kelly
Hear from the 2022 KWCA Hall of Fame class; Mike Garcia (start 2:20), Kendric Maple (start 8:50), and Tim Serbousek (start 11:40)
Mike Garcia was a State Champion, NCAA D2 Champion, and Coached State Champion teams in Oklahoma and Kansas. He is a 2022 KWCA Hall of Fame inductee. Listen in as he recaps his competitive and coaching career.
Current Mizzou Associate Head Coach Kendric Maple joins the program. The two-time State Champion at Wichita Heights and NCAA Champion at the University of Oklahoma went on to compete at the international level and came out of retirement last spring to capture the US Open title. He is a 2022 KWCA Hall of Fame inductee.
Tim Serbousek s grew up in Iowa, made his way to the Kansas City area, and carved out a thirty-six year career of it in the Blue Valley district. He will be inducted into the KWCA Hall of Fame during the banquet on October 8th in Salina.
Meet Tate Thompson, 2022 KWCA Coach of the Year for Girls 4A-321A. He was also named NWCA National Coach of the Year for Girls Wrestling.
Bethany Bowman works tirelessly to highlight the scores and personalities for all sports across the state of Kansas through her work with the Sports-in-Kansas media outlet. Listen to her interesting story from high school and college athlete to sports journalist.
Meet Madyson Gray, the 2022 Senior Wrestler of the Year in the 5A/6A Girls Division. Madyson is a 3X State Champion and is now enrolled at Grandview University.
2000 Olympic Champion Brandon Slay is one of the most high-profile wrestling coaches in the United States. He recently returned from Belgrade, Serbia where he helped guide none other than Jordan Burroughs to his seventh World and Olympic Gold. The Executive Director and Head Coach of the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center will serve as the headliner for the 2022 KWCA Fritz Knor Fall Clinic.
After an outstanding high school career at Lawrence High, Alan Clothier went on to become a four-time NCAA D1 qualifier for Appalachian State University and the University of Northern Colorado. He has begun his coaching career at Buffalo University.
AJ Cooper finished his career at Ft. Hays State University as a two-time All-American. Those accomplishments earned him 2022 KWCA Senior Wrestler of the Year honors. Cimarron High School Head Coach Lance Walker and Forth Hays State University Head Coach Erik Wince also join in.
Listen in as Marty Verhaeghe recounts his career; which ended in March with All-American honors for the Ft. Hays State University Tigers. Verhaeghe's high school coach, Cody Parks and his college coach, Eric Wince also join in.
Longtime Burlington High School Head Coach Doug Vander Linden was laid to rest yesterday after a long battle with cancer and other complications. Doug was loved and respected throughout the state and known nationally for his work on policy and promotion of the sport of wrestling. Most recently, he was instrumental in helping the Kansas State high School Athletic Association to sanction girls wrestling.
His memorial service was a humbling and heart-warming event. Attendees were greeted with a full parking lot at Burlington High School on a Sunday afternoon and a reception line that started thirty deep outside of the building and snaked its way through the school’s entryway into the spacious wrestling room where Doug had spend so many hours molding young lives.
In addition to this podcast, I would encourage you to seek out postings on social media, including the Sports in Kansas article by Bethany Bowman and Conor Nicholl which can be found at sportsinks.com. The outpouring of support for the family and messages of how impactful Doug was is impressive.
What follows is an audio recording of the reflection portion of the memorial service. Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks serves as the emcee.
2021 KWCA Hall of Fame inductee speeches; 2:00 – Rick Langerot, 6:10 - Wayne Petterson, 41:20 – Bob Gonzales.
Jared Simma has some impressive credentials... 4X Fargo All-American, 4X State Finalist and 2X Champ, Folkstyle National Champion. It is no surprise that the UNI Panther recruit is the 2021 Dave Schultz Award winner for the state of Kansas.
Coach Laughlin has spent his entire thirty year career at Junction City Middle School. The program is know for its large roster size and for its consistent success.
Knect has been one of the most recognized female wrestlers in the State of Kansas for several years. She finished with two State Titles and a 66-0 record for the past two seasons.
Coach Wince is entering his second season as Head Coach for the Tigers. He will be taking a session at this year's fall clinic.
Meet Gus Davis... The guy won a State Championship on a torn ACL! That's only part of this young man's story. Get fill in on what the Grandview University freshman is up to.
Most know Bushnell as the nine-time State Championship coach of the Seaman Baseball program. After twenty-two season, he stepped in to a new role, that of Athletic Director at Seaman. The 2012 KWCA Middle School Coach of the Year and State Medalist during his high school days at Sumner Academy, used his strong wrestling background to launch the Girls program at Seaman in 2020-21.
Nobody works harder at it than Baldwin's Kit Harris! The Head Coach of the 2021 D2 State Championship team adds that title to the Boys 4A title from 2015. For his efforts, he has been named 2021 KWCA D2 Coach of the Year.
With Gold on both the Boys and Girls side, it was State Title #3 for Washburn Rural and its Head Coach, Damon Parker. The former 2X State Champion at Manhattan High School has been named the 6A Coach of the Year for the Boys and the Kansas Coaches Association Coach of the Year, essentially as the overall COY for the State in the sport of Wrestling for the 2020-21 season.
The newly minted Head Coach at Friends University will be presenting at the 2021 KWCA Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic. The Holton native was coaching at Wayland Baptist in Texas prior to his appointment at Friends.
Brett Means of Goddard High School won his tenth State Championship at the helm of the Lions program in 2021. He is the KWCA 5A Coach of the Year. His history includes a State Championship for Goddard, an All-American finish at Labette Community College (the first in the program's history), and an All-American finish at the NCAA D2 level at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. He was an assistant on the 2006 team the won a State Title, then took the program over and helped its star continue to rise... he is now TEN State Titles in to his tenure as Head Coach.
The Andale Wrestling program is a force year in and year out. They have four State Championships to their credit, but before the 2021 Title had not won one since 2012. Coach Eck comes on to talk about the Title and jumping in to the high school heading coaching position.
Rick Langerot was named to the KWCA Hall of Fame in 2020, but due to the pandemic the recognition banquet was cancelled. Listen in as the Hall of Famer recollects on a four-decades long career in the sport.
Coach Pete is entering the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame! Listen as he recaps his career.
Bob Gonzales spent 44 years in the corner. His longevity and accolades are impressive. Hear from the 2021 KWCA Hall of Fame inductee!
Meet Coach Troy Nickerson, Head Coach at the University of Northern Colorado. He will serve as the headliner for the 2021 Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic
KWCA President Doug Vander Linden joins the program to talk about the upcoming 2021 Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic
NCAA D2 Senior College Wrestler of the Year, Bailey Kelly, joins the program. Before Bailey jumps on, hear from his college coach, the legendary Mike Denney
Meet 2021 Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Senior Wrestler of the Year for the NAIA, Colby Johnson. The 2017 Burlington High School graduate translated his success in high school to greater success at the national level at Baker University. Also hear from Baker Head Coach, Cody Garcia.
Logan Treaster finished his time at the US Naval Academy as a 2021 EIWA Runner-up and NCAA Qualifier. The 2021 Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA D1 Senior Wrestler of the Year will be continuing his studies in Medical School at the University of Kansas.
Join in on the 2020 KWCA Fritz Knorr Virtual Fall Clinic! President Doug Vander Linden of Burlington High School will fill you in on the line-up and how to get registered.
Since 2004 Andy Albright has toiled away as Chanute's Head Coach in search of the top spot in Kansas 4A Wrestling. At the 2020 State Tournament, the Blue Comets left little doubt when they finished 57 point in front of Runner-up and defending State Champion Marysville.
The Junior Blues of Washburn Rural High School won the inaugural Girls State Championship last February. In today's program we catch up with Head Coach Damon Parker, who was named 2020 KWCA Girls Coach of the Year.
After a successful career on the mat as a wrestler and coach, Mitch Beims became an administrator and is now in the private sector. He, however, continues to make great contributions to the Kansas Wrestling community through his website, kansashswrestling.com. The site houses high school state placings for individual, teams, and coaches dating back to 1930. Also included are All-American finishes at the collegiate level. The site is well-organized and easy to navigate. The site is a ‘must-bookmark’ for any Kansas Wrestling enthusiast and a model for other states to adapt.
A little bit of everything in this one! Coach Johnson of Norton Community High School is one of the most accomplished active coaches at the high school level in any sport in the state of Kansas. Interesting backstory and incredible recap of the 2019-20 season. Have a listen!
In this special edition, we catch up with National Champions Michael Spangler and Jake Beeson and their coach, Ken Kepley. The Pratt Community College duo will be attempting to defend their National Titles in 2021.
Elisa Robinson has been selected as the prestigious Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award winner for Kansas. Coach Tyler Gonzales comes on to tell us a little about the Junction City State Champion.
After twenty season building a power program, Coach Keal and the Mill Valley Jags broke through with the first State Wrestling Championship in school history.
Nikki Moore has been a mainstay on the Team Kansas roster for the past several years. Her senior season was a dream come true when KSHSAA sanctioned girls wrestling. The Nickerson High School grad currently holds the all time wins record at her school and will forever be its first girl's wrestling State Champion!
Erik Wince brings his vast competition and coaching experience to Ft. Hays State University, where he will take over as the fourteenth Head Coach in the sixty-five-year history of the program.
Meet Cade Lautt, 2020 KWCA 5A Senior Wrestler of the Year and the Dave Schultz Award Winner for Kansas. The nationally-ranked strongman is headed to the University of North Carolina to compete for the Heels.
The Hoisington High 4X State Champion and 3X D2 AA at Ft. Hays is heading to Maize High School where he will teach Industrial Tech and coach. Hear from Brandon as well as his high school coach, Dan Schmidt and his college coach, Chas Thompson.
The Holton native put together a career at Baker University that is one for the history books. Hear from Lucas as well as his high school coach, Cully Jackson and his college coach, Cody Garcia.
Burlington Head Coach and KWCA President comes on to discuss organization happenings and to announce who will be headlining the 2020 KWCA Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic
The 2019 Fritz Knorr Fall clinic concluded Saturday in Salina with the annual banquet to honor yearly award recipients and HOF inductees. Hear who won the yearly awards and hear the HOF inductee speeches. Jeff Giles (starts at the 6:45 mark), Jerry Fraser (starts at the 8:40 mark), Jon Lippelman (starts at the 15:20 mark)
Thirty-nine seasons in all, Thirty-three as head coach, 25 top 10 State finishes, eight State trophies, five State titles. All at Scott City High School. Meet KWCA Hall of Fame inductee, Jon Lippelman. This one is as entertaining as it is educational. I couldn’t make the following quotes up if I tried…
“They’d bet their apple pies and their pork loin sandwiches to see who had the toughest kid at that weight… and that’s what made dual wrestling back in the old days.”
“Back in those days, it was mop em up and throw em out there and just keep going to see if you could pin em or win by the final bell.”
“It’s alright to mess up, but that doesn’t mean anybody forgave you for it.”
“You would run into athletes that would make us poor little fat farm boys sit there with our mouth hang open just to watch em streak down the field and the fastest thing we had would only look like a puppy dog in the dirt chasing behind.”
“We’d open this book and we’d go to where Joe Seay was telling us how to get ahold of a single leg and put a man to the ground.”
“I knew in order to be successful in high school wrestling, you’re going to have to knock people down”
“A group is what makes State trophies.”
“… being able to practice without just going halfway. What we call ‘brother-in-lawing it.’ You’re going to have to learn to go hard, but enjoy it.”
“Sometimes maybe you stick a finger in people’s chest, but understand you have to have love to go along with the coaching direction that you’re using.”
“No matter which horse tank you go to you’re going to run out of water every once in a while and that doesn’t mean you give up, that means you get on the pump a little harder, but it’s going to take a little while to fill it up so you can have a team again and that’s just the way it works.”
“Leaving on a winner, it sure feels better than having the bully of the room throw you out the door and you have to say, ‘yea, but I did alright the day before.’ It’s always better to go out with the win.”
“My mum told me its sunny out there and you have to drink twice as much water or wear a hat, so by George, I wore a hat.”
Coach Rock Weldon: “I believe you’re wearing a hat.”
A high school Coach Lipp: “Well, so I am. Is that in the rule book?”
Coach Rocky Weldon: “I don’t know, I’ll have to look.”
“Ever since then, I have wore a wrestling cap to wrestling matches, weigh-ins, fancy award things, to NCAA tournament finals. It’s just what I am.”
“I either had to get away or I was going to be just like that cranky old Mother-in-law sitting in the corner saying ‘you can’t cook it that way, that aint how it’s done. You gotta do it the way we always done it.’ And so I got out of the picture…”
Dina Giles joins the program. Her husband, Jeff, will be posthumously inducted into the KWCA Hall of Fame on Saturday when the 2019 KWCA Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic concludes with its annual awards banquet.
Meet 2019 KWCA 4A Senior Wrestler of the Year, Korbin Riedel. The Tonganoxie High grad is now enrolled at the University of Arkansas Little Rock.
With the 2019 KWCA Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic only days away, President Nate Naasz fills us in on what attendees can expect from this year's annual event.
A big thank-you to KSHSAA Assistant Executive Director Mark Lentz for coming on to address questions regarding girls wrestling and the new weigh-in change for the upcoming season.
You would be hard pressed to find a program in Kansas with a deeper history than Derby High School. The Panthers are led by 2019 6A Coach of the Year, Bill Ross. Ross broke through with a State Title last winter after a thirty-three year championship drought for the program. Coach Ross has historic numbers at the helm, having won NINE State trophies in his eighteen years as head coach. Only ONE Bill Ross team has finished outside of the top-ten at State.
The Bulldogs of Marysville High School have emerged this decade as an established power in Kansas 4A Wrestling under the direction of Cole Frederickson. The Dawgs broke through with their first State Wrestling title in 2019 and show no signs of slowing the pace. Frederickson has the club, middle school and high school programs on the same page and making noise in north central Kansas that is being heard throughout the state. For his efforts, he has been named 2019 KWCA 4A Coach of the Year.
Tyler Mies continued the success from his days at Andale High with success on the national stage at Newman University. His career as a Jet concluded last spring with a Super Regional Title and two All-American finishes. He joins Preston Wiegel in earning the honor of 2019 KWCA College Senior Wrestler of the Year.
Meet Jerry Fraser, 2019 Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association (KWCA) Hall of Fame inductee. Fraser spent nineteen seasons as Clay Center Community High School Head Coach, where he built a successful program that included eight Regional Titles and a State Championship in 1981. He also spent time at Derby and Riley County. He played baseball at K-State and was introduced to wrestling by his college roommate, who was on a Fritz Knorr’s coached team. He was influenced by Tommy Chesbro and the OSU program, along with the philosophy of Vince Lombardi.
Topeka and northeast Kansas are lucky to have Rick Peterson of the Topeka Capital-Journal on the job supporting and recognizing its wrestling teams and individual athletes. For his efforts, Rick has been named 2019 KWCA Media of the Year award winner.
For those who know Coach Cody Parks, get your popcorn ready this interview will be more like a Country Mile than a New York Minute! Great reflections from the 2019 KWCA 5A Coach of the Year. Learn how he has built the Blue Valley Southwest program in to a perennial power and listen to his reflection on his high school coach, Jeff Giles, who will be posthumously inducted into the KWCA Hall of Fame this year. Lots of food for thought in this one.
Dayton Porsch is off to the Cedar Valley and the University of Northern Iowa after winning four Kansas State Titles. Listen as the 2019 321A KWCA Wrestler of the Year checks in with the podcast.
Ark City's Chad Beeson and Jim Ramirez are your 2019 Media of the Year award winners for their coverage of the Bulldogs on KSOK Radio. Chad joins the podcast.
He's headlining the 2019 KWCA Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic, but first he's heading to Nur-Sultan to corner Jordan Burroughs and James Green! Catch up with Coach Manning as he prepares to travel to Kazakhstan and the 2019 World Championships. Coach also gives a preview of the Huskers 2019-20 season.
Meet 2019 KWCA Senior Wrestler of the Year, Preston Weigel. 3X Big 12 Champion, 2X All-American.
Kicking off the 2019 KWCA podcast series is Andy Albright (Chanute High School), Kit Harris (Baldwin High School), Nathan Broeckelman (Great Bend High School), Conor Fitzgerald (Olathe South High School), and Doug Vander Linden (Burlington High School) talking about spring and summer wrestling. It's long, but valuable information for any coach! Albright 0:00, Broekelman 19:45, Harris 35:20, Fitzgerald 48:02, Vander Linden 1:13:07. My apologies for the echo in some of the audio, especially in Coach Harris’ interview. The material was just too good to edit further or leave out… get your notebook out for this one. Lots of great ideas from these great coaches!
KWCA President Nate Naasz joins the program to promote the clinic and give a last push to attend the 2018 Fall Clinic.
Nathan Butler graduated from Stanford University last spring with a Master's degree in Computer Science. Along the way the 2013 Leavenworth High School graduate, who was a four-time State Medalist and three-time State Champion as a prep, also became the most credentialed heavyweight in the history of the Stanford program.
He claimed over one-hundred career victories, qualified for the NCAA Championships all four years, and was crowned PAC 12 Champion in 2015 for the guys in Cardinal. He also represented the US at the 2015 Junior World Championships in Brazil where he claimed a Bronze medal. Additionally, he placed seventh at the 2017 US Open qualifying him for the Senior World Team Trials, where he placed fourth.
His academic exploits earned him the PAC 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year award last spring.
Butler has moved on from a lifetime competing in wrestling and has embarked on his professional career. After spending the past summers interning at Bloomberg in New York and at Apple's headquarters in California, he is living in the Bay area and working at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
Jim Beltch was a 1958 graduate of Goodland High School where he was also the Senior Class President. During his final season on the mat, Jim won the State Championship in the 98-pound weight class while leading the Cowboys to a fourth-place team finish in the era when Kansas competed in a single-class system in wrestling.
He went on to compete for Ft. Hays State University. Beltch became a three-time Missouri Valley Conference Champion. As a junior in 1961, he placed third at the NAIA National tournament in Golden, Colorado at 115 pounds. He followed that up with a Runner-up performance in the same weight class when Winona, Minnesota hosted in 1962. At the time Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania was a powerhouse. The Bald Eagles were led by Beltch's finals opponent, Gray Simons. Simons, who still gets mentioned among the all-time greats of wrestling in the United States, was a four-time NAIA National champion, three-time NCAA Champion, and two-time Olympian.
Damon Parker is about to begin his eighth season as head coach at Washburn Rural High School. He took over a program that finished near the bottom of the 6A standings at the 2012 State tournament to a program that finished just shy of the 2018 6A State Championship. Along the way, he has collected a dual mark of 95-36 and has been recognized as city coach of the year three times in addition to the Kansas Wrestling Officials Association Coach of the Year. He was named Co-Coach of the Year for the 2017-18 season by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, sharing the honor with Josh Carroll of Olathe North.
Ark City's Marcus Robinson was selected as the 2018 4A Wrestler of the Year after finishing his career with what most only dream of… four State Titles. The honor student and current University of Buffalo Bull finished his high school career in the familiar simply adorned gold singlet with large purple block lettering with a 177-25 record to go along with the four State Titles.
The 2017-18 season was special on several fronts for Robinson. Ark City won its state-leading twenty-first State Championship, but first during Robinson's high school days. His brothers Montez and Christian were also part of the title run, with Montez (a current senior) winning his second straight title. The team put six in the finals and left the Bicentennial Center in Salina with four individual titles and a cushion of nearly sixty points over Runner-up, Andover Central.
Marcus now has his sights set on continuing his winning ways at the college level at the University of Buffalo.
Sarah Bollinger was named Head Coach for Southwestern College's new Woman's wrestling program last spring after a national search. She comes with a wealth of both competitive and coaching experience.
Prior to Southwestern, Coach Bollinger spent three years as an assistant at her alma mater, Missouri Baptist, under the direction of long-time coach Brian Jackson and also served as a national age-group coach for both Team California and Team Missouri. She was a 2X Fargo All-American as a prep while wrestling for California, her home state, where she was also a Freestyle State Champion. Sarah went on to earn three All-American finishes in the multi-divisional Woman's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) national tournament.
Coach Bollinger will be presenting at the 2018 KWCA Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic, slated for October 5-6 in Salina.
10X NCAA D3 Champion coach, Jim Miller of Wartburg College joins the program. Coach Miller will serve as the headliner for the 2018 Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association (KWCA) Fritz Knorr Fall Clinic, slated for October 5-6 in Salina.
Undoubtedly one of the first names the come to mind when considering the most successful wrestlers from the Sunflower State is Melvin Douglas, who will be officially welcomed into the KWCA Hall of Fame at this year’s banquet. Melvin was inducted in 2009, but wasn’t able to attend the ceremony at that time.
Douglas’ highlights include; three State titles at Highland Park High School, two NCAA titles at Oklahoma University, and four medals at the World Championships, including Gold in 1993. He also has the distinction of being part of two team titles for the USA at the World Championships (1993 and 1995).
Wyatt Bechtel had an outstanding high school career, finishing as a 2X State Runner-up for Eureka. After graduating from K-State he has made a career in agriculture journalism. Wyatt has served as the ranker for 321A for the past several years, for his efforts he has been named KWCA Contributor of the Year.
Colonel David M. Fallon has spent his career developing his leadership skill in both practical and classroom environments. He has several tours of duty to his credit and has impressive academic credentials. He will deliver the keynote address at the 2017 NWCA Scholastic Leadership Academy
Doug Vander Linden – KWCA Treasurer/Leadership Academy
Doug Vander Linden is one of the most involved coaches is the state of Kansas. From the kids level through high school and beyond, Doug works as the grass roots as a coach and on the administrative level as a mover and shaker that works for growth of the sport and is vested in helping coaches build champions on and off the mat. Doug was instrumental in bringing the NWCA Scholastic Leadership Academy to Kansas and will help to present the curriculum.
Glenn Gormley from the NWCA national office in Pennsylvania will be in Salina to help with the NWCA Scholastic Leadership Academy on October 6th. Gormley has deep roots in the sport of wrestling along with the perspective of nearly three decades in the business world. Glenn is tasked with helping develop the 'off the mat' coaching skills that we all need. He will be presenting leadership academies in eight states over the next several weeks and Kansas will be his first stop.
The KWCA is proud to recognize the media for their coverage of our sport. This year, Jim Misunas of the Great Bend Tribune has been selected as one of our Media of the Year award winners. Hear about Mr. Misunas' journey and listen in for a tip or two on how you can better accommodate the media and get better coverage for your event.
Meet Dr. Ken Coover. His involvement with USA Wrestling extends beyond the borders of the Sunflower State. He was heavily involved in the organization when it was in its infancy and was one of the contributors early on that built a foundation for the strong organization the it is today.
One of the most highly regarded officials in the state, Justin Thaw, joins the program. Thaw has been named 2017 KWCA Official of the Year. The 2X State Champion for Newton and 2X NCAA Championships Qualifier for Mizzou found his way back on to the mat with equal success as an official.
Catch up with Mason Wallace, the 2017 Senior Wrestler of the Year for 6A. The 3X State Champ from Manhattan High School is currently wrestling for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Ft. Scott grad Victor Hughes finished his career as a 3X NAIA All-American and won the 2016 National Championship.
Meet Mike Davidson, Head Coach at Eureka High School. Mike was named 2017 Coach of the Year by his peers after a fifth-place finish at State. Coach Davidson is also the Head Football coach at EHS.
Coach Heath Eslinger joins the poscast. Coach E will headline the 2017 KWCA Fall Clinic. He brings a wealth of knowledge from the D1 level and has a background as a high school coach. He is well-versed in the 3D Coaching model and will open the clinic with a presentation on the topic that you won't want to miss!
Nate Naasz - KWCA vice-President and NWHOF-Kansas rep, in addition to being active on the national level with the NWCA. Nate is ‘in the know’ for national trends and issues.
Mark has been a registered wrestling official for thirty-seven years and has worked about as many State tournaments. Mr. Wallace still looks up every question on the annual rules test and relies on his officiating mentors to stay sharp.
“Expect the adversity and welcome it.” Colby Crank won a NAIA National Championship last spring, SEVEN years after his State Title at Hutchinson High School in 2009. Crank is now serving as an assistant at Baker with Coach Garcia. He was a 2016 KWCA College Wrestler of the Year.
SEAN MCCARTHY – Contributor of the Year winner. Sean has been instrumental in promoting and supporting wrestling in the state of Kansas. The former NCAA DIII National Runner-up also won a Midlands Championship while competing for Indiana State University (Bruce Baumgartner’s alma mater).
Head Coach at Benedictine College. Coach Williams hails from California, went to college at American University in DC, and has settled in middle America, where he coaches the Ravens. The NAIA school, located in Atchison has been competing in wrestling as a full varsity program only since the 2012-13 season.
Media of the Year winner. Staff photographer for the Topeka-Capital Journal. The young journalist shot photos at the 2012 NCAA Final Four and has taken photos of four presidents and Payton Manning.
Last year’s 4A Coach of the Year from Colby. Matt will be starting his eleventh year at the helm of the Colby program this season. He also coaches football and golf for the Eagles.
Listen to an interview with Michael Prieto, 4X State Champion and 2016 KWCA 6A Wrestler of the Year. Michael is now wrestling for South Dakota State University.
Listen to the Head Coach of Iowa State, one of the hottest programs in college wrestling.
Listen to an interview with 2016 Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, David Ray
Listen to an interview with 2016 Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, Delbert Erickson
Listen to an interview with 2016 Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee Dennis Charbonneau