Top 70 All-Time Division II Coaches – TDR # 31 – 76
The coaches are ranked by the number of dual meet wins while they were a head coach at a Division II school. Totals include matches from the 2023-2024 season.
ALL-TIME Coaches (D-II)– Top 70 (or so) with at least 100 wins Wins
- Pat Pecora (Pitt-Johnstown) 661 (15)
- Doug Parker (Springfield, Mass) 485
- Don Elia (Carson-Newman) 461
- Mike Olson (UNC-Pembroke, Upper Iowa, Monmouth) 428 – II ??
- Arthur “Bucky” Maughn (N Dak State) 408
- David James (Cent. Oklahoma) 396
- Mike Denney (Maryville Univ./Nebr.-Omaha) 389 – retired in 2023
- Vaughn Hitchcock (Cal-Poly-SLO) 353 – II
- Steve Costanzo (St. Cloud Univ.&Dana Coll.) 333 (14) up 1 spot
- Jim Makovsky (Minn. St.-Mankato/Valley City St.) 326 (2)
- Robert “Rummy” Macias (Minn. St.-Mankato) 299
- P.J. Smith (UNC-Pembroke, Campbell) 299
- Vince Monseau (West Liberty St./Peru St.) 286
- Jim Koch (Wisconsin-Parkside) 277
- Mike Sterner (SW Minnesota St.) 254
- William “Bill” Corman (Shippensburg State) 243
- Robert Fisher (Kutztown Univ.) 241 (5) up 1 spot
- Jason Liles (S.D. State/Montana St.-Northern) 236
- Doug Henry (Gannon Univ.) 233 – retired in 2023
- Terry Wetherald (Univ. of Indianapolis – Ind. Central) 230
- Heath Grimm (Upper Iowa Univ.) 229 (19) up 4 spots
- Jason Reitmeier (Augustana College-S.D.) 225 (13) up 3 spots
- Robin Ersland (Minot St./Cent. Mo. St./Calif. (Pa.), N. Mich. 225
- Marc Bauer (Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney) 215
- Mike Wehler (Mercyhurst, West Liberty State) 214 (7) up 1 spot
- Larry Kristoff (So. Illinois-Edwardsville, SW Mo. St.) 212
- Mike Palmisiano (Nebraska-Omaha, Ohio Northern) 200
- Tracy Borah (Western State College) 200
- Jason Valek (Newberry) 194
- Joe Seay (Cal. State Bakersfield) 187
- Allan Abraham (Calif. State San Francisco) 176
- Miles Van Hee (Western State College) 170
- Lars Jensen (Calif. State San Francisco) 170
- Stamatis Bulgaris (Wright State & Dayton) 169
- Ray Kowatch (Ashland College) 167
- John Oxton (St. Cloud State Univ.) 167
- Paul Kendle (Augustana College-S.D.) 163
- Howard Westcott (Portland State) 162
- James Kisgen (McKendree College) D-II – 2013 152 (14) up 4
- John W. Hancock (Northern Col., Col. St. Coll) 152
- Doug Moses (N.M. Highlands, So. Color., Col. St.) 151 – inc
- Bill Garland (Minnesota State-Moorhead) 147
- Roger Denker (Central Missouri State) 143
- Jack LaBonde (Northern Colorado, Col. St. Coll) 142
- John Sterner (Minnesota State-Moorehead) 137
- R.C. LaHaye (Lander/Grand Canyon) 135 (17) up 14
- Scott Ritzen (Chadron State College) 135
- Warren Williamson (South Dakota State ) 134
- Othello ‘O.T.’ Johnson (U. N.C.-Pembroke) 133 (14) up 11
- Dave Shutter (Truman State, NE Missouri State) 133
- Mike McGlinchey (Salisbury State) 133
- Jason Warthan (Indianapolis) 132 (9) up 6
- Jason Ramstetter(Adams State) 131 (6) up 4
- Jack Maughan (Northern Colorado) 129
- Chuck Piper (Colorado Mesa St.) 129
- Ken Caudell (Belmont-Abbey) 127 –– retired in 2023
- Martin Grahn (Portland State) 126
- Dan Hinkel (Kutztown) 124
- Mark Osgood (Ashland Univ.) 121
- Blaine Gorney (Livingstone) 121
- Jesse Nelson (SW Minnesota/Ridgewater) 120 inc. (4)
- Dock Kelly (Lourdes/Anderson Coll.) 117 ** now at NAIA school
- Bob Dalling (East Stroudsburg State) 115
- Dalton Jensen (Nebraska-Kearney) 112 (18) up 10 spots
- Tony Cipollone (Mercyhurst) 112
- Jack Ramey (Kearney State/Fort Hays St.) 107
- Shawn Nelson (Findlay Univ.) 107 inc. (3) up 1
- Seth Bloomquist (Shippensburg State) 105 (1)
- Nathan Osur (Connecticut/Wesleyan Univ.) 103
- Richard Ulrich (Adams State Univ.) 102
- Todd Steidley (Central Oklahoma) 101 (15) up 10 spots
Coaching Retirements
Kocher Announces Retirement After 45 Years With UChicago Wrestling
CHICAGO – It’s an end of an era for University of Chicago wrestling as head coach Leo Kocher has announced his upcoming retirement after 45 years at the helm for the Maroons.
“I cannot imagine a more rewarding professional and personal adventure than the one that has been provided to me by my years at the University of Chicago,” said Kocher. “The opportunity to work with the amazing student athletes who, while handling the most psychologically and physically grueling of intercollegiate sports, at the same time earn a degree from a college which is unsurpassed in its ability to deliver a demanding and extraordinary education.”
Kocher will leave UChicago as the most tenured of all head coaches in the department’s history. He has coached one NCAA D-III champion, one NCAA D-III outstanding wrestler, 32 All-Americans, 144 individual University Athletic Association (UAA) champions, and has led the Maroons to 18 UAA team titles with the last coming in 2023.
Kocher continued by saying, “I am also very grateful for the support and warm friendships shared with so many of my colleagues in Chicago athletics, as well as our college students and university professionals who impacted the lives of my wife Joy and me in our seven years as resident heads in the college housing system. Speaking of Joy, she earns enormous credit and my undying love for her dauntless management of the challenges the spouse of an intercollegiate athletic coach must face. This includes instances of unassisted minding of our three children, competition’s many late evenings and road trips. For the past four decades Joy has dealt with it all with grace and enviable competence.”
Kocher received the school’s John T. Wilson and Norman Maclean awards during his time at the university to go along with several inductions into wrestling hall of fames, numerous Man of the Year and lifetime service awards, and other various recognitions from associations and publications over the years. … story at … UChicago.edu/Kocher-announces-retirement-after-45-years-with-uchicago
And …
CMU’s Tom Borrelli Set to Retire After NCAA Championships
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan’s Tom Borrelli, one of the most respected figures in college wrestling, has announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
One of the sport’s all-time winningest coaches and an iconic name among his peers, Borrelli led the Chippewas to a first-place finish in the Mid-American Conference Championships over the weekend at Kent State. It was CMU’s 17th such title, the 15th under Borrelli. Including regular season crowns, the Chippewas captured a remarkable 30 MAC championships during Borrelli’s reign. He was named the MAC Coach of the Year for a record 15th time on Saturday.
Borrelli will officially step down after the NCAA Championships on March 23, bringing to an end a career that began in 1979 as a high school coach at his alma mater Goose Creek High School near Charleston, S.C. and continued at Riverwood High School near Atlanta.
Borrelli, who joined the college ranks as an assistant at Clemson in 1984, plans to remain heavily involved with the program that he has been instrumental in building and maintaining since coming to CMU from Lake Superior State in 1991. “The program is in a good spot, I think we’re going to have a good team next year, but I think it’s time for maybe a little different direction, some new enthusiasm – just a younger, more energetic person to lead the program,” said Borrelli, who amassed a 414-204 career dual meet record, ranking fourth in victories among active college coaches and second to Oklahoma State’s John Smith among those leading NCAA Division I programs. … story at … Getsomemaction.com/CMUS-tom-borrelli-set-to-retire-after-ncaa-championships
And …
Central Michigan’s Tom Borrelli Took Unconventional Coaching Path
Tom Borrelli will retire as the head coach of Central Michigan after the 2024 NCAA Championships, but his journey was not without challenges.
Mar 13, 2024 by Kyle Klingman
Tom Borrelli still doesn’t know why he was put in charge of his high school wrestling team as a junior. He was only 16 and competed at 98 pounds — the lightest weight class. It was a week before the South Carolina state championships and most of the wrestlers who had qualified were juniors and seniors at heavier weights. The head coach had to leave practice Borrelli became the interim coach for an hour. Nervous and more than a little shocked, Borrelli warmed up the team and put them through a series of drills. After the first set, he noticed that the team was goofing off. That did not sit well with Borrelli. He stopped the entire practice and ripped into the team. “I don’t know what you guys are thinking but I want to do well in the state tournament and I want to finish strong at the end of the year,” Borrelli told the team. “I’m going to practice hard. If you want to practice hard then practice hard. If not, you probably don’t need to be here.”
Borrelli watched as practice resumed. Everyone was working hard. Everyone listened. Everyone responded to the smallest wrestler on the team. “It was the first time I ever had the feeling that I might be able to motivate people someday,” Borrelli said. “That was the first time I ever experienced that I guess.” Experience is something Borrelli had little of when he took his larger teammates to task in 1974. He started wrestling in 10th grade and didn’t place at the state tournament the previous season. He eventually finished second as a junior and third as a senior for Goose Creek High School — but Borrelli admits that South Carolina wasn’t a national wrestling power, either.
As it turned out, Borrelli was never destined to be a wrestler. He was destined to be a wrestling coach. Because his high school didn’t offer the sport until he was a sophomore, Borrelli had to rely on instruction from his father — a former Pennsylvania state champion who served in the Navy for 24 years. His high school wrestling coach was the football coach who understood that wrestling would help the football team.
The elder Borrelli would ask his son what he learned in practice and then they would go out in the yard and work on moves. Remember, this is South Carolina so the snow wasn’t a factor during the winter. Tom learned to execute moves and would return to practice and explain the technique. The coach eventually discovered that Tom’s father was a former wrestler and invited him to be an assistant. … story at … Flowrestling.org/Central-michigans-tom-borrelli-took-unconventional-coaching-path
New College Men’s Teams – TDR # 31 – 75
New Men’s Teams; There have been several announcements about teams that will be started or in some cases re-started this fall for the next season. It is encourage to see the continued growth of opportunities for wrestlers to continue their education while competing in the sport.
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New Junior College teams include Andrew College in Georgia., Big Bend Comm. College in Washington will move from club status to the NJCAA. Bismarck State College in North Dakota and Northern Oklahoma will restart their Junior College teams.
In NCAA Division II California State Poly at Humboldt will restart their men’s program. Felican University in New Jersey will start both a men’s and women’s team. Salem University in West Virginia will start a new team in the fall. A D-II team will end at Notre Dame College as the school is closing.
In NCAA Division III new programs have been announced at Maine Maritime Academy, Misericordia University in Pennsylvania, Penn State-Altoona, and Randolph College in Virginia. All schools will also start a women’s program as they expand their athletic opportunities.
In NCAA Division I Tarleton State in Texas will be starting a men’s program along with a women’s team. This increase will be offset by a fairly new D-I team at Queens University has ended this spring.
In NAIA Westcliff University in California will be adding a wrestling program this fall.
As we learn of new programs being started and other changes we will post the news here.
The 2024 HighSchoolOT All-State Boys Wrestling Team
Forty wrestlers are making the team for the second, third, or fourth season and five have made it all four seasons.
The fourth-annual HighSchoolOT boys wrestling all-state team features 40 athletes making an appearance on the team for the second, third, or fourth time, led by five wrestlers who became our first four-time all-state honorees.
Mallard Creek’s Cameron Stinson, Fred T. Foard’s Brayden Mejia, Reidsville’s Rayshun James, Central Cabarrus’ Charleston Baglio, and Robbinsville’s Kage Williams made the team each year of their high school careers.
Stinson and Williams made history in becoming the 13th and 14th wrestlers in NCHSAA history to win four individual championships. Stinson became the third to do it while having never lost in his career. There are six wrestlers at minimum listed with each weight class. The top two are on first team, the next two on second team, and fifth and sixth wrestlers on third team.
Then, 28 honorable mention all-state wrestlers — twice the size of a 14-wrestler starting lineup — are selected without regard to weight class (for instance, 106 pounds could have three HM all-state wrestlers, while 113 could have zero).
The following athletes now have multiple appearances on the HSOT all-state wrestling team, with Stinson leading the way with four first-team appearances:
- 4-time (5): Stinson****, Mejia*, James*, Baglio**, Williams***
- 3-time (11): Seaforth’s Josh Miller*, Cape Fear’s Samuel Aponte**, Cox Mill’s Cooper Davis*, Northwest Guilford’s Eli Pendergrass*, A.L. Brown’s Trevor Freeman**, Lake Norman’s Eli Murray**, Lumberton’s Jackson Buck*, Hough’s Jackson Rowling*, Cardinal Gibbons’ Liam Hickey*, Topsail’s Ian Fritz*, North Iredell’s Bray Trivette
- 2-time (24): Robbinsville’s Alexis Panama; Rolesville’s Frank Bianco; Pisgah’s Kane Bryson; Avery County’s Cael Dunn*, Cooper Foster*, Benjamin Jordan, and Grant Reece; Uwharrie Charter’s Lorenzo Alston*; Kings Mountain’s Jaelen Culp*; Mooresville’s Jace Barrier and Johnny Merriman; Seaforth’s Gabe Rogers; Morehead’s Elijah Horton; Grimsley’s Grant McCord; North East Carolina Prep’s Ryan Mann; Hickory Ridge’s Colt Campbell; Ragsdale’s Bradley Yokum; Trinity’s Spencer May; Northwest Guilford’s Dylan Pepin; Mount Pleasant’s David McEachern*; Davie County’s Hunter Testa*; Union Pines’ Nicholas Mascolino; Cape Fear’s Landon Sargent*; Lincolnton’s Geviaunta Walker* …. rest of story at lists at … Highschoolot.com/2024-highschoolot-all-state-boys-wrestling-team
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 