Wynn Michalak served as an assistant coach at Michigan State since 2016BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Former Central Michigan All-American and U.S. Senior Nationals champion Wynn Michalak has been named associate head wrestling coach by first-year Campbell head coach Scotti Sentes.
"Wynn Michalak fits into the Campbell Wrestling culture and embodies what the program is all about," said Sentes. "He is driven by his faith, family, and relentless will to win. He enters the program as a decorated competitor with 10 plus years of coaching experience and has left a lasting impression on every program he has been a part of. I expect Wynn to have an immediate impact on the team, particularly with the upper weights."
"I'm excited to join the Campbell family," said Michalak. "We are in a great position to make waves and be force to be reckoned with immediately. I can't wait to get started and contribute to developing our current team and continue to build for the future."
Michalak comes to Campbell from Michigan State, where he has served as an assistant coach since 2016, coaching 14 NCAA qualifiers, including 2020 All-American Cameron Caffey and 2019 All-American Rayvon Foley.
The Spartans qualified seven for the NCAA Championships in 2020 after placing 33rd in the 2019 team standings. During the 2019-20 campaign, Michigan State also registered dual wins over No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 20 Oklahoma.
His coaching experience also includes four seasons as a volunteer assistant at Illinois (2012-16), where he helped train two-time NCAA Champion Isaiah Martinez, and two seasons (2009-10) as a graduate assistant at CMU.
One of the most successful wrestlers in Central Michigan history, Michalak was a four-time Mid-American Conference Champion (2005-08), three-time MAC Wrestler of the Year (2006-08), and a three-time NCAA All-American (2005, 2006, 2008), including a runner-up finish at 197 pounds in 2008. He won the 2015 U.S. Senior Nationals title at 97 kg/213 pounds on Dec. 19, 2015, in Las Vegas, and competed in the past two U.S. Olympic wrestling trials.
Michalak ranks second all-time at Central Michigan in winning percentage (.842, 128-24 record), third in pins (50) and fourth in victories (128). The two-time team MVP (2006, 2008) was named the MAC Freshman of the Year in 2005 and MAC Wrestler of the Year three times (2006-08). The first Chippewa to win four MAC Championships, all at 197 pounds, Michalak was also a three-time All-American, placing sixth at the NCAA Championships in 2005, eighth in 2006 and second in 2008. He also helped lead the Chippewas to team conference championships all four of his seasons in Mount Pleasant.
Michalak owns two of the best seasons (winning percentage) in CMU history, going 30-2 (.938) in 2007-08 and 33-4 (.892) in 2005-06, and also has two of the Top 10 single-season pin totals (15 in 2005-06 is tied for fifth; 13 in 2007-08 is tied for ninth).
Not only was Michalak successful on the mat at CMU, he was a four-time Academic All-MAC and NWCA All-Academic team selection and earned Academic All-America honors in 2008. He received both the NCAA post-graduate scholarship and Bob James Memorial Scholarship in 2008. Michalak graduated with a 3.8 grade-point average and earned a bachelor's degree in secondary mathematics education and physical education from Central Michigan in 2008. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in sports administration from CMU.
Post collegiately, Michalak was the 2010 Hargobind International champion and was runner-up at the 2011 Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Open and Sunkist Kids International Open.
Wrestling for the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, Michalak won the 2015 U.S. Senior Nationals title at 97 kg/213 pounds over Scott Schiller in the finals, 12-4, on Dec. 19 in Las Vegas.
Michalak was a two-time state champion, three-time all-state honoree, and four-time conference champion at Caro (Mich.) High School. He helped lead his team to the Division III state title in senior season and finished his career with a 232-8 record. He lettered four times in wrestling and three in football, and received all-state honors twice as a quarterback.
Michalak married Jessica Davis on Jan. 1, 2016.
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