Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association

Barry Schmitt - Independence
9 years as a District Rep.  33 years coaching experience.

Peter Moe - Cambridge
Current WWCA Secretary

Devin Bahr - West Salem/Bangor
He just completed his undefeated senior season capping off his 3rd State Championship with the only one missing due to a season ending injury. He had not given up a single offensive point all season (No takedowns, nearfalls, or reversals). He is a tremendous advocate of our sport and helps the youth not only at his school but also in the area communities. His next step will be with the Badgers. He is the athlete that every coach dreams about.  

3 time state champion and only not a four because of an injury.  Most dominate wrestler in the state.

Jacob Raschka - Pewaukee
Dominant performer all year and won his second state title with relative ease.

Jacob Raschka won his second consecutive Division One State Title after claiming a Fargo National Championship and a Cheesehead Championship. He verbally agreed to attend Missouri in October of his junior year.
Despite wrestling in the upper weights throughout his career and entering 4 Cheesehead Tournaments, The Clash and other extremely difficult competition, he amassed 207 career victories, making him one of the few Wisconsin wrestlers to ever total more than 200 wins. 
Outside of competition, he is personable, respectful and kind. 
In competition, he is the tough, dominant leader that every team desires. He delivers pins whenever they are needed and his hard-nosed work ethic serves as an example for all of his teammates. 
This 4-time team MVP has led his squad to 4 Conference Titles, 3 Regional Titles, 2 Team State berths and a Team State second-place finish. 

Drew Scharenbrock - Sun Prairie
Drew won the state championship in division 1 at 138 pounds this season.  He finished the season with a 48-2 record.  In addition to his state championship he was a conference, regional, and sectional champion.

Ben Klister - Wrightstown 
Ben put in all the extra work needed to be a state champ this year, but suffered a knee injury a the Sectional.  While lying on the mat knowing his high school wrestling career was over all he could do was ask how his teammates were doing.  He also, made it back to the Tournament that afternoon in a brace and on crutches to cheer and support his teammates. His dedication to Team even though he was out shows an incredible amount of character.  No doubt he would have been in the top 5 at State this year.

Brock Bergelin - Denmark  
Brock completed a season in which he battled illness and adversity to win his third straight state title.  His drive in the off-season, dedication to the sport, and his leadership on our team are attributes that are indicative of someone who should be considered for Wrestler of the Year.  He has been a model of consistency throughout the last 3 years and has grown into a mature young man who has all the tools to be successful at the next level.  Thank you for your consideration.

Benji Peak - Elkhorn Area High School
Benji Peak is one of the most dedicated wrestlers Wisconsin has .
His passion for wrestling is tremendous. He wrestles at all levels of this sport, 12 months a year. He has many accomplishments in multiple styles.
Benji Peak is a 2x Cadet Freestyle State Champion, a 2x Cadet Greco State Champion.
Other accomplishments include:
Cadet National Runner up, Cadet National 3rd place , Cadet UWW runner up, Northern Plains Greco Champion, Northern Plains Freestyle Champion, Central Regional Greco Champ. And most recently his WIAA State Championship in Division1 at the 126lb weight class. I feel his weight class was very tough, and the final was one of the best matches of the entire tournament. Benji, as a junior, all ready has over 100 wins in his career. He is a 2x Captain of his team as well. He is an extraordinary Leader and has a great reputation. He is an excellent Student Athlete as well.

Hunter Luepke - Spencer-Columbus 
Hunter is exceptional young man. He truly is everything you want in a student athlete. He is a high honor role student and a NHS member. He is always willing go to our youth practices and work with our young wrestlers. As a junior he is a 3X conference and 3X regional champion, he was a sectional champion and a Bi-State runner up. He was also the Div. 2 195 State Champion. The first state champion in our schools history. He currently has 122 wins and will surpass the school record next season.

Donte Johnson - Fond du Lac
Donte has a unique story that is tough to explain in ‘Short Time’, but none the less a story that is inspiring. Yes, he’s a good wrestler, but more importantly an extraordinary individual. Donte has not allowed doubt & circumstances get in the way of a young man achieving success through perseverance and fate.
Donte finished his high school wrestling career a 3X State Qualifier, 2X State Place Winner, and starting wrestling in 9th grade. I can’t imagine where he’d be if he’d a started wrestling earlier.

Carson Huppert -  Ellsworth
Carson has been huge in Ellsworth's success for years. He is a staple of the coaching staff whether he was assisting Jack, Chad, or Mark. I believe he has earned this over those many years of selfless service to the sport and to kids.

10 yr asst., helped coach 6 team state championships. Part of Ellsworth's string of 12 state team appearances

Dom Belfiori - Merrill
Dom has assisted and coached at all levels of the Merrill wrestling program in last 20 years.  Dom is willing to do many thankless tasks. His contributions to the Merrill wrestling program are significant. We run several tournaments in which he is well prepared for and knows the ins and outs as well as anyone. His forward thinking and attention to detail helps make the tournaments run smoothly. After the season he helps prepare the stats, history book, order awards and the year end review. Dom takes the initiative to get these things done. Dom is also a very good technition and does a great job with the wrestlers each and every day.  The Merrill wrestling program is very fortunate to have him. Please consider him for the assistant coach of the year.

Gordy Blackburn - Sun Prairie
Gordy has been with the Sun Prairie staff for 13 years.  He connects well with the wrestlers.  His ability to fine tune the technique of the wrestlers in the room is a key to their success.  His passion for kids only matches his passion for the sport of wrestling.  He is always improving his technique through watching video and through his own wrestling.  He has coached 27 individual conference champions, 21 state qualifiers, 8 state placewinners, 4 individual state champions, and 8 conference team championships.

Brian Viola - Sauk Prairie Wrestling
Brian is a huge part of why Sauk Prairie has won 7 straight Badger North conference titles, 5 straight regional titles,  and has gone to team state 4 of the last 5 years, including 2 trips to the semi-finals.  Brian is in it for all of the right reasons, he loves wrestling and he loves to help kids.

Kevin Wallace - Elkhorn Area High School
Kevin Wallace has been in The Elkhorn Wrestling Program for over 10 years now. He has been part of a program that has won 4 Conference Championships over the last 6 years. Elkhorn has had 19 WIAA State Qualifiers over the last 4 years. Including this years State Champion Benji Peak. Elkhorn has a dual meet record in those 4 years of 78-13. Kevin has been responsible for off season training as well, running camps and putting in Hours of Volunteer time.
Closing in on his 200th win shows his dedication to the sport of wrestling.

Brian Wojiechowski - New Berlin
Brian as served as a respected and dedicated coach for over 20 years in the Greater Milwaukee Area.  In the past five seasons, he has worked hard to support the athletes of the New Berlin Wrestling Team, helping them go from a team that finished 6th in the Woodland Conference to a team that finished 2nd this past season.  His personal dedication to each of the athletes helped New Berlin earn 3 Woodland Conference Champions this past season and multiple state qualifiers in consecutive years for the first time in program history.  Coach "Wojo" has helped instill hard working values within these young men and set an excellent example for young men across the area by devoting himself to helping them achieve their individual goals and become better men.

Brian Johnson - Hudson
Coach Johnson just finished his 13th season as the Hudson asst. coach.  During that time, Hudson has consistently been a top team in northern Wisconsin.  Coach Johnson specializes in the 285 pound weight class which has been very strong for Hudson year after year.  This year, Coach Johnson added to his workload, taking over the PreK-2nd grade program as well.

Tony Senner - Pewaukee
Who wrestled with the Division One 195-pound and 285-pound State Champs everyday? 180-pound Coach Tony Senner. Along with giving these boys their best practice competition, Senner is also a phenomenal teacher. His grasp of both fundamentals and funk make him an extremely valuable asset to each wrestler. The team can attribute four years of championships in part to  
his ability to analyze wrestlers' skills in practice and find advantages while coaching in competition.

Jared Klimmer  - Spencer-Columbus 
Jared has been a assistant here for the past 7 seasons and is a major part of our recent success. He came from a very successful program as a athlete to a program that hadn't seen much success in over 10 years. He's brought knowledge and a positive attitude over these years that has been invaluable. He works with kids throughout the off-season. It's no suprise that since he's been on staff we've had state qualifiers and place winners regularly. With his help we've gotten our first state champion ever. It's easy to stick around when things are good and teams are successful, his dedication to this team in the good years and the bad years is greatly appreciated. 

Don Zdanczewicz - Fennimore
Don has been apart of growing the overall sport of wrestling in the community of Fennimore. He not only assist Steldt at the High School level, but he often oversees and assist our youth program. It was due to his promotion of the sport, dedication to wrestling, and his knowledge of wrestling that took youth numbers from 35 kids to 90 kids! He was also instrumental in improving our junior varsity wrestlers' success, which directly influenced those young kids to become more involved in the off season. Lastly, Don has helped coach Fennimore to its first 2 ever Team State Final matches. He was extremely important in Fennimore ' s victory 2 years ago, and he was just as important this year getting the team back there (team that loss two runner-up kids to injury and Greco, and 5 starting Seniors, which one was a State Champ). Don's effect on kids go way beyond these successes, but it is these achievements that help understand how good of a coach he has become.

Aaron Lakey - Fond du Lac
Coach Aaron Lakey is a young energetic coach that has an unique way of motivating and connecting with kids. Coach Lakey has helped create a ‘Buzz’ in the sport of wrestling around our school again. Since his arrival 5 years ago our wrestling numbers have increased and the outlook is positive.  Coach Lakey offers a unique perspective on life that the guys value and respect. His efforts in helping kids become better citizens are being recognized on and off the 

Brian Jandrin and Travis Spude - Luxemburg-Casco
A successful program is not built overnight, nor does a great program continue unless there are dedicated people who continually contribute to the success of the program.  At Luxemburg-Casco, two assistant coaches have been a model of stability for our program.  Please consider Brian Jandrin and Travis Spude as co-assistant coaches of the year.   Both men have been an integral part of the high school team and have taken their knowledge and passion for the sport to the next level by becoming an assistant coaches in 2001.  After concluding their 16th year as an assistant, the team accomplishments are second to none.  Six-time team champions (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013) and three time runner-ups (2007, 2011, 2017).

Brian Jandrin is a graduate of Luxemburg-Casco High School (1997), former wrestler, two-time state place winner, and a member of two team state championships (94,96). Brian has been a leader in the wrestling room as a role model in preparation.  His work with analyzing opponents and breaking them down on paper and video has been an advantage that the team has relied on to create favorable matchups for the Spartans.  Brian has worked with varying weight classes over the years but has been instrumental in working with the middle and upper weight classes.  He also helps to run the team’s weight lifting sessions during practice.

Travis Spude is also a graduate of Luxemburg-Casco High School (1999), former wrestler, the first four-time state qualifier and place winner in Luxemburg-Casco Wrestling history, as well as a member of two team state championships (96, 99). Travis has been a motivational coach for the program due to his success on the mat.  Travis has been able to make strong connections with the wrestlers he has worked with over the years especially the lower and middle weights.  Throughout his career he has been one of the lead technicians in the practice room and has been instrumental in helping to bring freestyle and greco wrestling into the program.

Both coaches have gone above and beyond helping the program through setting up tournaments, helping with youth and middle school wrestlers, helping to run the middle school, JV and youth tournaments, as well as helping to prepare the team during the summer at team camps.

Dave Burgard - Waunakee
Dave has serves as the middle school coach and assistant high school wrestling coach for the past 5 seasons at Waunakee High School.  Dave was instrumental in helping a Waunakee program this year go 6-0 in duals in the Badger North Conference and win a share of the Badger North Conference Title.  He helped turned around a Waunakee team that had won 4 conference duals in the previous 4 years years to winning a share of the Badger North Conference Title.  He also serves as an assistant for the state Greco team.

Jared Bagniewski - Holmen
Jared Bagniewski like so many assistant coaches in the state is very hard working, knowledgeable, humble, approachable, and passionate about the sport of wrestling.  Most successful programs have head coach caliber people fulfilling assistant coach roles, and Jared is no exception to that.  What sets Jared apart from others is his methodical approach to improving the program — including holding a high standard of improvement in wrestler and in character.  Jared sets goals and action plans with the team.  He holds them accountable for their plan and for their goals.  He is a motivator and uses statistical analysis as evidence for goals and progress.  He pays attention to the dynamics and health of the program and uses his background in team building to support his program.  He helps create documents of match plans for big tournaments and duals.  He matches the efforts of anyone on the team and strives to outperform previous standards and marks.  There are programs and coaches in the state that have won more titles and accomplished feats that Holmen hasn’t ever had in their wheelhouse, but recently Holmen finished their best season in school history and Jared Bagniewski is a big reason why.  He deserves to be considered for the Assistant Coach of the Year.