MINNEAPOLIS -- After serving on the Augsburg University men's wrestling coaching staff for the past seven seasons, three-time Augsburg All-American Tony Valek '12 will join current head coach Jim Moulsoff as co-head coaches of the Auggie men's wrestling program, the university has announced.
Valek served as a graduate assistant coach for the Auggies from 2012-14, and has been the Auggies' associate head coach since 2014.
"Tony has worked side by side with me over the past five seasons and is very deserving of this promotion," Moulsoff said. "We are excited to continue working together to provide a great academic and athletic experience for our wrestlers."
Tony ValekIn Valek's seven years on the coaching staff -- two years under Mark Matzek '05 (2012-14) and five years under Moulsoff -- the Auggies claimed NCAA Division III national titles in 2015 and 2019, finished second in 2017 and 2018, and fifth in 2014 and 2016, with 32 All-Americans and 10 individual national champions. Augsburg has also won NCAA regional titles each of the seven years, with 31 regional champions and 60 national tournament qualifiers.
"Jim and Tony together have shown Augsburg University, the Upper Midwest region and the nation that they are an awesome team and a winning combination," said Augsburg Athletic Director Jeff Swenson. "It is fitting that they are now co-head coaches, as they have filled the trophy cases with several NCAA Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year honors over the last five years. I look forward to the future as they lead the Auggies in continued success in the classroom, on the mat and in life."
In 2015, Valek earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Assistant Coach of the Year honors, after the Auggies won the national title. He has also earned NWCA regional assistant coach of the year honors four times.
"I am very humbled and honored to lead such a historic program alongside Jim. I have learned so much from Jim during my time as a wrestler here at Augsburg, and as a coach on his staff," Valek said. "I am excited to continue working side by side with him to add to the storied history of Augsburg wrestling. We are very blessed to have a supportive administrative staff, committed assistant coaches, involved alumni, and a hungry group of young men on and off the mat. It is very gratifying to help our student-athletes work towards accomplishing their goals during their time at Augsburg."
Jim MoulsoffValek joins Moulsoff, who was named the 10th head coach in the 70-year history of Augsburg's wrestling program in the fall of 2014. In his five seasons as the Auggies' mentor, Moulsoff has produced a 59-13 record in dual meets, with two team national titles, two runner-up finishes and a fifth-place finish.
Moulsoff spent seven seasons as an assistant coach on the Auggie staff before being named head coach. In his 12 years on the coaching staff, Moulsoff has been a part of three national title squads and five national runner-up squads, with 62 All-Americans, 14 national champions and a 124-36-1 dual-meet record.
In 2018-19, Moulsoff earned D3wrestle.com Division III National Coach of the Year honors, and earned NWCA Division III National Tournament Coach of the Year honors in both 2015 and 2019, and Rookie Coach of the Year honors in 2015. He also earned West Region Coach of the Year honors in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, and Upper Midwest Region Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2017-18 and 2018-19. In 2013-14, Moulsoff was named West Region Assistant Coach of the Year by his coaching peers.
The coaching duo has also been committed to advancing their student-athletes academically, as well as on the mat. Over the past seven years, the Auggies have finished in the top 20 each year in the NWCA's Scholar All-America Division III Team national standings, including a second-place finish in 2017 and a fourth-place finish in 2018, with team award grade-point averages of 3.4 or higher in six of the last seven seasons. Augsburg has had 36 wrestlers earn NWCA Division III Scholar All-America individual honors since 2014, and had two wrestlers earn Google Cloud Division III Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) last season.
A two-time first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American and three-time NWCA Scholar All-American, Valek had an outstanding career as an Augsburg middleweight wrestler. A four-time NCAA Division III national tournament qualifier, Valek earned Division III national runner-up honors at 149 pounds in both 2010 and 2011, while finishing third nationally in 2012.
Valek finished his career with a 136-25 record, with 87 bonus-point victories (60 pins, six technical falls, 21 major decisions) to his credit. He won NCAA regional titles twice and was part of Auggie teams that won the NCAA Division III national title in 2010, while earning runner-up honors each of his other three seasons.
An accounting and general management major at Augsburg, Valek earned the NCAA's Elite 89 Award as the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the 2012 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships. He earned Augsburg's Honor Athlete award, the highest senior student-athlete award given at Augsburg, in 2012. Valek earned his bachelor's degree in 2012 and his master's degree in leadership from Augsburg in 2014.
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