Charles, Davis, Shilson, Engel join National Coaches on 2019 U.S. Junior World Team coaching staff
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Jacque Davis (right) coaches youth athletes in a Beat the Streets Gala event in Times Square. Photo by Larry Slater.
USA Wrestling will bring an impressive group of assigned coaches to 2019 Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, August 12-18.
Men’s Freestyle
The assigned coach for the Junior World Men’s Freestyle Team is Shawn Charles. He is currently head coach of the Power Inferno Wrestling Academy in Arizona. He has an extensive coaching resume on the college level, as well as experience with USA Wrestling international teams.
Charles coached at the 2018 U23 World Championships in Romania. He has coached Pan American Championships teams at the Cadet, Junior and Senior level. He has been on the coaching staff at two Olympic Games, and coached a number of U.S. international tour teams.
His college coaching career includes stints as the head wrestling coach at Arizona State from 2009-2014, as well as at Fresno State in 2005-2006. NCAA Div. I Assistant coaching posts have included Missouri, Brown, Nebraska, Central Michigan and Oklahoma, as well as at Phoenix College. During his career at the Div. I level, eight of his teams have placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships.
As an athlete, Charles was a four-time All-American for Arizona State, including two trips to the NCAA finals. He was a member of the Senior Freestyle National team, including a second place finish at the World Team Trials and a U.S. Open title. A Pan American champion and an Espoir World medalist, Charles won international medals across the world.
Coaching alongside Charles is Olympic champion, two-time World champion and current USA Wrestling National Development Coach Kevin Jackson.
During his athletic career, Jackson was the 1992 Olympic champion and a World champion in 1991 and 1995. He was a member of two World Champion Teams in 1993 and 1995. Jackson won three World Cup gold medals, two Pan American Games titles and two Pan American Championships gold medals.
On a coaching level, Jackson has extensive experience. This is his second stint with the USA Wrestling National Coaching Staff. He previously served as USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Coach from 2000-2008, and as the National Freestyle Resident Coach from 1998-2000. Among the athletes Jackson coached as either National Coach or Resident Coach were Olympic champions Brandon Slay, Cael Sanderson and Henry Cejudo.
Jackson also spent eight years as Iowa State’s head coach, producing four NCAA champions and 14 All-Americans. He was a four-time All-American, competing for LSU and Iowa State, including an NCAA runner-up finish for the Cyclones. He is a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The men’s freestyle competition will kick off the World Championships, taking place August 12-14.
Women’s freestyle
There are two assigned coaches for the U.S. Junior World Women’s Freestyle Team in Tallinn, Jacque Davis and Chad Shilson.
Davis currently works as the Director of Girls Development with Boston Youth Wrestling, as well as a coach and leader with Beat the Streets Providence, working with girls in both cities. She is a driving force in the growth of women’s wrestling in New England.
She served five years as the Director of Girls Development for Beat the Streets New York, building a nationally respected program that included coaching numerous USA Wrestling All-Americans, while also helping build girls wrestling in New York City high schools and middle schools.
Davis has coached USA Wrestling teams in international competition, including posts with age-group World and Pan American teams, as well as international tour teams. She was the first woman to be named Director and National Team Coach for New York State. She also served on USA Wrestling Women’s Age-Group Council.
She wrestled for Menlo College and Santa Rosa High School in California, Davis has won major coaching awards, including USA Wrestling Women’s Developmental Coach of the Year and the Dan Gable "America Needs Wrestling" Award.
Shilson has previously been an assigned women’s coach for the 2018 Cadet World Championships and the 2017 Cadet Pan American Championships. He has also been a personal coach on the U.S. staff for the 2019 Junior Pan American Championships, the 2017 Cadet World Championships and the 2016 Cadet Pan American Championships. He has also coached U.S. tour teams to the 2018 Klippan Lady Open in Sweden, and the Yoshida Cup in Japan in both 2017 and 2018. He has also coached at over 30 USA Wrestling National Team camps.
Shilson has served as the women’s director for Minnesota USA Wrestling and the girls/women coach for the Minnesota Storm since 2009. He has been a volunteer coach at the high school level in Minnesota for more than 20 years. In 2009, he was a volunteer assistant men’s coach at his alma mater Augsburg University, and will serve as a volunteer assistant coach for Augsburg’s varsity women’s program, which launches in 2019-2020.
He has won 15 Masters National wrestling titles within USA Wrestling, and was a varsity wrestler at Augsburg. Shilson has also run 134 marathons and/or ultra-marathons.
Alongside them will be USA Wrestling Women’s Freestyle National Development Coach Jessica Medina, who joined the staff in early 2019.
Medina joined the USA Wrestling staff after serving as Ferrum’s women’s wrestling head coach for two seasons. Medina also coached for Beat the Streets Philadelphia, as well as at Montini Catholic High School in Illinois. She coached Team California at the Junior/16U Nationals as well.
Also a former USOPTC resident athlete, Medina was a six-time U.S. Senior National Team member and 2009 and 2010 Senior World Team member. She also won a 2006 Junior World bronze medal. Medina won two WCWA national titles for the University of the Cumberlands.
The women’s portion of the competition will take place August 14-16.
Greco-Roman
The assigned coach for the Junior World Men’s Greco-Roman Team is Nate Engel, who is in his second season as a member of the Stanford University coaching staff, serving as the volunteer coach. Engel is also the Director of the California Regional Training Center program. He was previously an assistant coach for the U.S. Naval Academy from 2014-18.
Engel served as a coach with the 2018 U.S. Junior Greco World Team at the Junior World Championships in Slovakia.
Engel was a two-time National Team member in Greco-Roman and a top athlete on the national circiut. He pursued Greco-Roman full-time at Northern Michigan, then became a member of the U.S. Army WCAP program. Engel was the runner-up at the 2013 World Team Trials. He won the 2012 Haparanda Cup in Sweden and took silver at the 2013 Haavisto Tournament in Finland. He was also the Maccabiah Games Champion in both Freesyle and Greco-Roman at 55 kg in 2013, while taking home two bronze medals in 2017.
Working with Engel is Gary Mayabb, USA Wrestling’s Manager of Greco-Roman Programs. Mayabb’s position focuses on improving USA Wrestling’s performance in Greco-Roman wrestling at all levels while growing the sport in the United States.
He was a successful high school coach in Missouri, developing champion teams and athletes at Staley High School, Oak Park High School and Belton High School. One of the best developmental coaches in the country, Mayabb has tons of experience, coaching nearly 15 age-group World Teams over the years. He was the Greco-Roman coach for Missouri USA Wrestling for 30 years.
As an athlete, he was a 1990 U.S. Open runner-up in Greco-Roman, and qualified to compete in four U.S. Olympic Team Trials series (1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992). In college, he was a two-time captain for the wrestling team at the University of Central Missouri, where he was an NCAA qualifier and the MIAA Conference Most Outstanding Wrestler in 1983.
The Greco-Roman portion of the competition will take place August 16-18.
Watch live on Trackwrestling.com or follow @USAWrestling on Twitter.
USA Wrestling will bring an impressive group of assigned coaches to 2019 Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, August 12-18.
Men’s Freestyle
The assigned coach for the Junior World Men’s Freestyle Team is Shawn Charles. He is currently head coach of the Power Inferno Wrestling Academy in Arizona. He has an extensive coaching resume on the college level, as well as experience with USA Wrestling international teams.
Charles coached at the 2018 U23 World Championships in Romania. He has coached Pan American Championships teams at the Cadet, Junior and Senior level. He has been on the coaching staff at two Olympic Games, and coached a number of U.S. international tour teams.
His college coaching career includes stints as the head wrestling coach at Arizona State from 2009-2014, as well as at Fresno State in 2005-2006. NCAA Div. I Assistant coaching posts have included Missouri, Brown, Nebraska, Central Michigan and Oklahoma, as well as at Phoenix College. During his career at the Div. I level, eight of his teams have placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships.
As an athlete, Charles was a four-time All-American for Arizona State, including two trips to the NCAA finals. He was a member of the Senior Freestyle National team, including a second place finish at the World Team Trials and a U.S. Open title. A Pan American champion and an Espoir World medalist, Charles won international medals across the world.
Coaching alongside Charles is Olympic champion, two-time World champion and current USA Wrestling National Development Coach Kevin Jackson.
During his athletic career, Jackson was the 1992 Olympic champion and a World champion in 1991 and 1995. He was a member of two World Champion Teams in 1993 and 1995. Jackson won three World Cup gold medals, two Pan American Games titles and two Pan American Championships gold medals.
On a coaching level, Jackson has extensive experience. This is his second stint with the USA Wrestling National Coaching Staff. He previously served as USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Coach from 2000-2008, and as the National Freestyle Resident Coach from 1998-2000. Among the athletes Jackson coached as either National Coach or Resident Coach were Olympic champions Brandon Slay, Cael Sanderson and Henry Cejudo.
Jackson also spent eight years as Iowa State’s head coach, producing four NCAA champions and 14 All-Americans. He was a four-time All-American, competing for LSU and Iowa State, including an NCAA runner-up finish for the Cyclones. He is a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The men’s freestyle competition will kick off the World Championships, taking place August 12-14.
Women’s freestyle
There are two assigned coaches for the U.S. Junior World Women’s Freestyle Team in Tallinn, Jacque Davis and Chad Shilson.
Davis currently works as the Director of Girls Development with Boston Youth Wrestling, as well as a coach and leader with Beat the Streets Providence, working with girls in both cities. She is a driving force in the growth of women’s wrestling in New England.
She served five years as the Director of Girls Development for Beat the Streets New York, building a nationally respected program that included coaching numerous USA Wrestling All-Americans, while also helping build girls wrestling in New York City high schools and middle schools.
Davis has coached USA Wrestling teams in international competition, including posts with age-group World and Pan American teams, as well as international tour teams. She was the first woman to be named Director and National Team Coach for New York State. She also served on USA Wrestling Women’s Age-Group Council.
She wrestled for Menlo College and Santa Rosa High School in California, Davis has won major coaching awards, including USA Wrestling Women’s Developmental Coach of the Year and the Dan Gable "America Needs Wrestling" Award.
Shilson has previously been an assigned women’s coach for the 2018 Cadet World Championships and the 2017 Cadet Pan American Championships. He has also been a personal coach on the U.S. staff for the 2019 Junior Pan American Championships, the 2017 Cadet World Championships and the 2016 Cadet Pan American Championships. He has also coached U.S. tour teams to the 2018 Klippan Lady Open in Sweden, and the Yoshida Cup in Japan in both 2017 and 2018. He has also coached at over 30 USA Wrestling National Team camps.
Shilson has served as the women’s director for Minnesota USA Wrestling and the girls/women coach for the Minnesota Storm since 2009. He has been a volunteer coach at the high school level in Minnesota for more than 20 years. In 2009, he was a volunteer assistant men’s coach at his alma mater Augsburg University, and will serve as a volunteer assistant coach for Augsburg’s varsity women’s program, which launches in 2019-2020.
He has won 15 Masters National wrestling titles within USA Wrestling, and was a varsity wrestler at Augsburg. Shilson has also run 134 marathons and/or ultra-marathons.
Alongside them will be USA Wrestling Women’s Freestyle National Development Coach Jessica Medina, who joined the staff in early 2019.
Medina joined the USA Wrestling staff after serving as Ferrum’s women’s wrestling head coach for two seasons. Medina also coached for Beat the Streets Philadelphia, as well as at Montini Catholic High School in Illinois. She coached Team California at the Junior/16U Nationals as well.
Also a former USOPTC resident athlete, Medina was a six-time U.S. Senior National Team member and 2009 and 2010 Senior World Team member. She also won a 2006 Junior World bronze medal. Medina won two WCWA national titles for the University of the Cumberlands.
The women’s portion of the competition will take place August 14-16.
Greco-Roman
The assigned coach for the Junior World Men’s Greco-Roman Team is Nate Engel, who is in his second season as a member of the Stanford University coaching staff, serving as the volunteer coach. Engel is also the Director of the California Regional Training Center program. He was previously an assistant coach for the U.S. Naval Academy from 2014-18.
Engel served as a coach with the 2018 U.S. Junior Greco World Team at the Junior World Championships in Slovakia.
Engel was a two-time National Team member in Greco-Roman and a top athlete on the national circiut. He pursued Greco-Roman full-time at Northern Michigan, then became a member of the U.S. Army WCAP program. Engel was the runner-up at the 2013 World Team Trials. He won the 2012 Haparanda Cup in Sweden and took silver at the 2013 Haavisto Tournament in Finland. He was also the Maccabiah Games Champion in both Freesyle and Greco-Roman at 55 kg in 2013, while taking home two bronze medals in 2017.
Working with Engel is Gary Mayabb, USA Wrestling’s Manager of Greco-Roman Programs. Mayabb’s position focuses on improving USA Wrestling’s performance in Greco-Roman wrestling at all levels while growing the sport in the United States.
He was a successful high school coach in Missouri, developing champion teams and athletes at Staley High School, Oak Park High School and Belton High School. One of the best developmental coaches in the country, Mayabb has tons of experience, coaching nearly 15 age-group World Teams over the years. He was the Greco-Roman coach for Missouri USA Wrestling for 30 years.
As an athlete, he was a 1990 U.S. Open runner-up in Greco-Roman, and qualified to compete in four U.S. Olympic Team Trials series (1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992). In college, he was a two-time captain for the wrestling team at the University of Central Missouri, where he was an NCAA qualifier and the MIAA Conference Most Outstanding Wrestler in 1983.
The Greco-Roman portion of the competition will take place August 16-18.
Watch live on Trackwrestling.com or follow @USAWrestling on Twitter.
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