Mike Wenger steps down as Wadsworth wrestling coach

The storied Wadsworth High wrestling program will have its third head coach in three seasons after Mike Wenger announced his resignation following one season at the helm. Wenger took over for son Clay Wenger, who coached the Grizzlies for five seasons as Medina County Sports Hall of Famer John Gramuglia's successor. Those in the program understood he would be a temporary replacement due to his son's late resignation to become the first women's wrestling coach at the University of Mount Union. "We wanted to keep everything stable, so I said I would do it for a year and then they could go out and try and find a younger guy and get some new blood in there," the 61-year-old Wenger said Monday. "That was kind of the plan all along." Wenger plans to continue to train wrestlers at his barn in Wadsworth Township, which he has done for more than 20 years. "I'll always stay involved with Wadsworth wrestling," he said. In his one season as head coach — he helped in the program at a variety of levels for a number of years — Wenger led the Grizzlies to an eighth-place team finish at the D-I state tournament. Jaxon Joy won his third straight state title, while Blake Frantz and Aaron Ries finished fourth, Kade Mellon was sixth and Kolt Mellon was eighth. "We knew we were going to play it by ear and see how it went," Wadsworth athletic director Brad Musgrave said. "It doesn't surprise me. "I can't thank Mike enough. When Clay gave his resignation, it caught me off guard and it was so close to the start of the season that I was concerned what we were going to do with the program. He stepped up and helped guide our program through the season. He kept the train going down the tracks. I'm forever grateful for the job he did." Musgrave said the plan is to have a new head coach in place before he retires as AD on June 30. An experienced coaching staff will be around to assist with the transition, as those assistants did when Wenger agreed to take the head coaching job. "I had a lot of help," Wenger said. "All the assistants helped me. That part was kind of easy. All that administrative stuff wasn't fun. I don't do that stuff, but my staff made it easy." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.