Otero Junior College in Colorado adds wrestling, names Hacker head coach
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by Otero Junior College
Otero Junior College is the first two-year institution in Colorado to announce the addition of a Wrestling program under the National Junior College Athletic Association, Region IX.
OJC’s athletic director, Gary Addington, is excited about what this will mean for southeast Colorado.
“This is going to be good for the Arkansas Valley with its strong wrestling tradition that spans all the way to the Kansas border,” said Addington. “Having this program gives opportunities to kids to continue their education and participate in a sport they love; kids who otherwise may not have seen those opportunities Otero is a two-year college who opens doors to everybody. These wrestlers will not only have the opportunity to complete a two-year degree, but also have an increased opportunity to move on to both wrestle and study at a four-year school.”
Addington stated that OJC is extremely proud of the young man that has been hired to build this exciting new program. Head coach Chris Hacker is a two-time high school state wrestling champion from Oklahoma in folkstyle in addition to winning multiple Greco-Roman and Freestyle state titles. He was a six-time All American at the Cadet and Junior National Championships and was a collegiate wrestler for the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
While at Nebraska, Hacker earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He went on to the University of Central Oklahoma to earn a Master of Education degree. While earning his master’s degree, Hacker was a graduate assistant coach for three years at Central Oklahoma. While being mentored by 34-year head coach, David James, Hacker was part of Central Oklahoma’s NCAA Division II National Championship. That experience allowed Hacker to coach 10 All-American wrestlers, three National Champions and two NCAA Top 5 Team finishers.
Hacker will spend the next few months, prior to the 2016-2017 academic year, recruiting for OJC’s inaugural team. Hacker hopes to bring in up to 40 student athletes to vie for a spot on the team and build the foundation for the new program.
To accommodate the new athletic program, OJC will be building two new units in the Conley Student Housing Complex to house the additional student athletes. The team will initially wrestle open tournaments in Kansas and Wyoming as well as dual meets with teams in the Colorado region.
“Other NJCAA Region IX colleges will soon be adding wrestling to their athletic programs as well, so within a few short years I think we are going to see wrestling become one of the premier athletic sports in Region IX,” said Addington. “OJC will approach this new sport as we have done all our other sports, we demand high standards of excellence in both athletics and academics. Academics comes first at OJC and we do all we can to provide the support student athletes need be successful both in the classrooms and in their athletic competitions.”
For more information about the new OJC Wrestling Program, go to www.ojc.edu and click on Athletics. Coach Hacker can be contacted at 719-384-6913 or by email: Christopher.Hacker@ojc.edu
OJC’s athletic director, Gary Addington, is excited about what this will mean for southeast Colorado.
“This is going to be good for the Arkansas Valley with its strong wrestling tradition that spans all the way to the Kansas border,” said Addington. “Having this program gives opportunities to kids to continue their education and participate in a sport they love; kids who otherwise may not have seen those opportunities Otero is a two-year college who opens doors to everybody. These wrestlers will not only have the opportunity to complete a two-year degree, but also have an increased opportunity to move on to both wrestle and study at a four-year school.”
Addington stated that OJC is extremely proud of the young man that has been hired to build this exciting new program. Head coach Chris Hacker is a two-time high school state wrestling champion from Oklahoma in folkstyle in addition to winning multiple Greco-Roman and Freestyle state titles. He was a six-time All American at the Cadet and Junior National Championships and was a collegiate wrestler for the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
While at Nebraska, Hacker earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He went on to the University of Central Oklahoma to earn a Master of Education degree. While earning his master’s degree, Hacker was a graduate assistant coach for three years at Central Oklahoma. While being mentored by 34-year head coach, David James, Hacker was part of Central Oklahoma’s NCAA Division II National Championship. That experience allowed Hacker to coach 10 All-American wrestlers, three National Champions and two NCAA Top 5 Team finishers.
Hacker will spend the next few months, prior to the 2016-2017 academic year, recruiting for OJC’s inaugural team. Hacker hopes to bring in up to 40 student athletes to vie for a spot on the team and build the foundation for the new program.
To accommodate the new athletic program, OJC will be building two new units in the Conley Student Housing Complex to house the additional student athletes. The team will initially wrestle open tournaments in Kansas and Wyoming as well as dual meets with teams in the Colorado region.
“Other NJCAA Region IX colleges will soon be adding wrestling to their athletic programs as well, so within a few short years I think we are going to see wrestling become one of the premier athletic sports in Region IX,” said Addington. “OJC will approach this new sport as we have done all our other sports, we demand high standards of excellence in both athletics and academics. Academics comes first at OJC and we do all we can to provide the support student athletes need be successful both in the classrooms and in their athletic competitions.”
For more information about the new OJC Wrestling Program, go to www.ojc.edu and click on Athletics. Coach Hacker can be contacted at 719-384-6913 or by email: Christopher.Hacker@ojc.edu
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