New year, new coach for K-M wrestlers

The ‘22-23 season is upon us. The KoMet wrestling team will look a bit different this year after graduating decorated athletes and staples in the line-up like Bennette Berge, Kail Wyia, and Logan Vaughan. One additional new look to the season will be who sits in the corner as the head coach.

Previous Head Coach, Jamie Heidt, announced to the wrestlers that he is stepping down from the head coaching position. Assistant Coach Ryan Hill, will be taking the reins of the Kasson-Mantorville wrestling program. Heidt doesn’t plan to go far, as he plans to stay on as an assistant coach.

“The timing was right for Coach Heidt and I to make the change,” Hill said. “Heidt built and ran an elite program and I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor, role model, and friend to learn from. I’m one of the luckiest guys in the world. I got to learn from the best, and now that I’ve taken over the program, I have the best high school wrestling coach in the country on staff,” he said.

Hill has been a part of the K-M wrestling staff since 2013. He has been a part of all four state championship teams. This year will also mark his fourth season of running the youth program.

The KoMets return the with the majority of last year’s line up in tack, led by state runner-up, senior, Cole Glazier. Other returning state qualifiers come from the junior class, Joey Kennedy, Dominic Mann, and Luke Swanson.

“When you graduate guys like Berge, Wynia and Vaughan there are big shoes to fill when competing, but more importantly, leaders in the room. We are looking for Glazier, Kennedy, Swanson, and Mann to take a big step up and grow into that leadership role. I expect these guys to lead by example in the way they compete and work harder than their competition, both in the arena and in preparation. I need them to bring a championship attitude and approach to work every day and for it to be contagious to rub off on the other guys.” said Hill.

Additional returning starters and names to become familiar with are Broc Vaughan, Jonah Coleman, Aiden Friedrich, Owen Friedrich, Noah Swarts, and Heath Parrish. Other wrestlers in the room who saw some varsity action last year and hope to bust into this year’s line are include Eli Richardson, Jacob Duitsman, Owen Nelson, and Kayden White.

“We are looking to put 14 young men out on the mat that are coachable, bought in, and committed to our program. We expect our guys to out fight their competition and compete at all times, whether that is every second and situation in competition, in the practice room, on a run or in a lift. These are non-negotiables for our guys to beat people they aren’t supposed to beat and for our program and community to win section and state championships.” said Hill.

“We’ve got a younger group of guys with a new head coach, but nothing changes. We still have high expectations in the room as well as during competition for everyone on the team. We are looking forward to starting competition at a high level tournament right away at the Donnybrook.” said senior, Cole Glazier.

“We have a busy opening weekend and can’t wait to see where we are at with our training and what adjustments we need to make. We are excited to open our season down in Iowa City at the Dan Gable Donnybrook tournament. It’s a great opportunity to see where we stack up against some of the best guys across the Midwest. It was a great event last year and we are glad to be a part of it again this year. We will also be sending some guys who are in the hunt at a few weight classes over to the Dick Shiels Invitational in Faribault. We are excited to see how they compete on a little different stage and who is making the jumps early in the season for us to accomplish our goals this year.” said Hill.

You can follow along with the Donnybrook results on Twitter @gabledonnybrook

Guillotine High School Rankings Class AA (Nov. 24)

Team Rankings:

1. Simley

2. Becker

3. New Prague

4. Kasson-Mantorville

Individual Rankings:

106: Broc Vaughan — 4th

145: Joey Kennedy — 9th

152: Luke Swanson — 6th

160: Dominic Mann — 7th

170: Cole Glazier — 1st

285: Heath Parrish — 10th