Recap of head coaching changes from Cael to Charles and beyond

Cael Sanderson meets the fans at Penn State

Since the NCAA championships concluded in mid-March, there have been a number of changes at the top of various college wrestling programs. Some of the new head coaching hires were highly publicized even in the media outside the wrestling world... while others may be news to you, especially if you've had a busy summer. Here's a month-by-month recap:

APRIL

Cael stuns the 'clones, takes charge of the Nittany Lions. Cael Sanderson, head coach of the Iowa State wrestling program for the past three seasons – and one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers in U.S. history as a four-time NCAA champ with a perfect 159-0 record, and 2004 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle – stunned the entire sports world by leaving his alma mater to take the helm at Penn State University on April 20.
 

Jim Heffernan, new head coach for the Fighting Illini
(Photo/University of Illinois wrestling media guide)

Heffernan hired as head coach of the Illini. The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana announced that long-time assistant coach Jim Heffernan had been named head wrestling coach of the Fighting Illini, replacing Mark Johnson, who had announced his retirement after having been at the helm for nearly two decades.
 

Appalachian State elevates Bentley. JohnMark Bentley, an assistant coach at Appalachian State University the past three seasons, will become the school’s head wrestling coach for the 2009-10 season, replacing Paul Mance, who spent the past 33 years as head coach at the Boone, North Carolina school.

Iowa State's new head coach Kevin Jackson, flanked by new assistant
coaches Chris Bono (left) and Yero Washington (Photo/Cyclones.com)

MAY

 Iowa State introduces Jackson as new head coach.  The Cyclones go from one gold medal coach to another: Replacing 2004 Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson was Kevin Jackson, winner of the gold in freestyle at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Like Cael, Jackson was also an Iowa State alum, having served as the Cyclone team captain in 1987.
 

Charles in charge of the Sun Devils. Leshawn “Shawn” Charles was named head wrestling coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils, filling the vacancy left by Thom Ortiz, who left the program in April.

Augsburg makes it official for Matzek.  In May, Mark Matzek was officially named head wrestling coach at Augsburg College, having been interim coach since July 2008 of the Minneapolis-based NCAA Division III powerhouse.

JUNE

Wheaton welcomes Gruenwald. Jim Gruenwald, a two-time member of the US Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team, was hired as head coach of the Thunder wrestling program at Wheaton College in suburban Chicago. He replaced Dan Weber, who served the program as its head coach for one season.

Limestone makes it official for Goodale. After serving as interim head coach last season, Trent Goodale has been named the head coach for the Saints wrestling program at Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina. He had assumed the interim title in fall 2008 when former coach Ben Stehura accepted the head coaching job at Cleveland State University.

Sedivy moves up at Dakota Wesleyan. Dakota Wesleyan University announced that former Tiger wrestler and assistant coach Matt Sedivy will be school's new head wrestling coach. He replaces Josh Hardman, who is now head coach at the University of Indianapolis.

Muhlenberg strong on Kocsis. Mike Kocsis, a former ranked Division I wrestler and one of the top natural bodybuilders in the world, was hired the new head wrestling coach at Muhlenberg College.

JULY

Eslinger returns to UTC as head coach. Heath Eslinger has been named head coach of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) wrestling program. The Cleveland, Tennessee native wrestled for the UTC Mocs a decade ago, and was a past Southern Conference Wrestler of the Year. He replaces Chris Bono, who left to serve as an assistant to Kevin Jackson at Iowa State, Bono's alma mater.

Spiess says sayanora to MSU-Moorhead. Keenan Spiess resigned as head coach of the Minnesota State University-Moorhead wrestling program.

Maughan retires from Northern Colorado. Jack Maughan announced his retirement after 22 seasons as head wrestling coach at the University of Northern Colorado, effective immediately, to focus all his energies as the athletic department's director of development, which he has also held in a dual role for about one year.

Iowa Lakes welcomes Eustice. Ty Eustice, a two-time NCAA All-American for the University of Iowa, was selected to be head wrestling coach for Iowa Lakes Community College. Eustice comes to the Estherville, Iowa two-year college after serving as assistant wrestling coach at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.