USA Wrestler Photo Contest Top left: Nine-year-old Michael Bartush of the Norwalk Mad Bulls
Wrestling Club looks for the pin at the Connecticut State Championships in New Haven. Melissa Augeri photo. Top right: Kayla Miracle of Team Indiana controls her opponent in the finals at 130 pounds at the USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Nationals in Oklahoma City. Geri Bruggink photo. Bottom left: Bailey Kelly of Kansas goes for a takedown against
Indiana’s Jacob Cavins in the Cadet 195-pound finals at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Karen Sankey photo. USA Wrestler is seeking your best wrestling photography for publication in a future issue of the magazine. Other photos may be posted on
TheMat.com or on USA Wrestling Weekly. USA Wrestling reserves the right to publish all materials submitted for the Photo Contest with no restrictions! Mail photos to: Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling, 6155 Lehman Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80918. E-mail photos to:
gabbott@usawrestling.org.
World bronze medalist Donny Pritzlaff named associate head coach at Rutgers
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Entering its inaugural season in the Big
Ten Conference, the Rutgers wrestling program made a big addition to its coaching staff Friday, hiring longtime Big Ten coach and former grappler Donny Pritzlaff to its staff as associ- ate head coach.
“I believe that this is one of the best coaches in the country and a hire that can change the landscape of this wrestling pro- gram,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “Donny has years of Big Ten experience as an athlete, coach and recruiter. He is regard- ed as one of the best recruiters in the country and will certainly make an impact immediately as we enter the Big Ten.” A decorated collegiate and freestyle wrestler, Pritzlaff owns more than 10 years of collegiate coaching experience at the NCAA Division I level. The Lyndhurst, New Jersey, native spent the last three seasons at the University of Michigan (2011-13) as an assistant wrestling coach after spending five years at the University of Wisconsin as the associate head wrestling coach. “I feel like I can make a big difference here and I’m excited to get to work and start developing relationships with guys on the team and the whole athletic department,” Pritzlaff said. “I think I felt drawn to Rutgers being in the Big Ten. I wrestled in the Big Ten and coached in the Big Ten Conference for many years.” “I’ve always felt pride in the state of New Jersey. I tried to get
out here and recruit as much as I could when I was away. I feel really close to the kids that come out of the state and this area. It’s going to be a great situation for everyone” Pritzlaff mentored four Wolverine All-Americans in his time in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, working closely with Kellen Russell, who captured his second NCAA title and fourth Big Ten title to finish a stellar collegiate career in 2012. Russell became just the 11th four-time Big Ten Champion in league history. An experienced recruiter, Pritzlaff has done nothing short of drawing top talent, securing a top-10 recruiting class in 2012. Prior to arriving at Michigan, Pritzlaff served five seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin (2007-11), including his last two as associate head coach. He helped lead the Badgers to top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Championships in each of the last three seasons, including a fourth-place finish in 2010. Pritzlaff previously served as an assistant coach at Hofstra University (2004-06) and as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin (2002-03).
As a collegiate wrestler at Wisconsin, Pritzlaff was a two-time
NCAA 165-pound champion and four-time NCAA All-American. He won a bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships in freestyle wrestling. Pritzlaff captured a Junior World champi- onship in 1998. He is a native of Lyndhurst, N.J.
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