STANFORD, Calif. -- Alex Tirapelle and Nate Engel, a former assistant at Navy, complete the 2018-19 Stanford wrestling coaching staff, head coach Jason Borrelli announced today.
Tirapelle, who re-joined the Cardinal as a volunteer in December, will serve as an assistant for the upcoming season.
"We are thrilled that Alex has chosen to stay with us full-time, as he is one of the top coaches and wrestling minds in the country," said Borrelli. "Alex epitomizes our program's Cardinal Caliber values and our student-athletes will continue to benefit tremendously from his direction next season."
Tirapelle served as an assistant coach for Stanford from 2010-14 before becoming the head coach at Penn (2014-17). During his first stint on The Farm, he helped guide the Cardinal to its best dual-season record in school history with a 17-5 mark in 2013-14. That year's team sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships - tying a then-school record. Four of the five NCAA qualifiers were Pac-12 champions, also a school record.
Engel joins the staff after being an assistant at Navy for the last four seasons. An excellent recruiter, he brought an influx of talent the Midshipmen roster by signing back-to-back Top 20 recruiting classes and landing two recruits ranked 1st in the nation, Jared Prince and Quentin Hovis. He will also serve as the Director of the California RTC program, as he has extensive ties with USA Wrestling and will coach the U.S. Junior Greco World Team at the Junior World Championships in Slovakia this September.
"We had our eyes set on Nate from day one, as he has an impeccable track record as a coach and is respected by everyone in the profession," explained Borrelli. "Nate's roots with USA Wrestling will also help tremendously as we look to take our Olympic Regional Training Center to the next level. We are very excited to have him involved in our program and I look forward to working alongside him each day."
Engel was an All-American at Missouri Valley College and a four-time NAIA qualifier. An elite senior level competitor, he pursued a Greco career full-time, training at Northern Michigan under Ivan Ivanov. A two-time member of the U.S. National Team, Engel was the runner-up at the 2013 World Team Trials. He won the 2012 Haparanda Cup and took silver at the 2013 Haavisto Tournament. He was also the Maccabiah Games Champion in both Freesyle and Greco-Roman at 55 kg in 2013, while taking home to bronze medals in 2017.
The duo join longtime assistant Ray Blake, who was promoted to associate head coach at the end of the 2016-17 season. Blake will begin his 12th season on the staff this fall. During Blake's coaching tenure, Stanford has sent 26 different wrestlers to the NCAA Championships a total of 51 times. The Cardinal set a program record in 2017 with nine NCAA qualifiers. He has helped coach nine NCAA All-Americans to 12 total honors, meaning nearly half of Stanford's All-Americans (20 all-time) have been mentored by Blake.
"Ray has done a tremendous job over the past 11 years and his dedication to his craft is unparalleled," said Borrelli. "He is a tireless worker, very dependable, and extremely loyal. You would be hard pressed to find someone with more passion and enthusiasm toward the Stanford wrestling program than Ray, and I am grateful that we were able to reward him with this promotion, as it was long overdue and very much earned."
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