Mike Simons of Oregon named NWCA National High School Girls Coach of the Year

Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) is proud to announce the 2020 winners of the State and National High School Girls Coach of the Year awards. This program is in its second year and will continue to expand as the number of states sanctioning high school girls wrestling grows. To date Girls High School Wrestling is sanctioned in 24 states. States sponsoring girls championships: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts. Maine, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

This year’s National Girls Coach of the Year is Mike Simons from Thurston High School (OR) and the National Girls Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year represents Penn High School (IN).

Simons (National and Oregon Coach of the Year) just completed his 24th season of coaching, the last 17 at Thurston High School, where he serves as both boys and girls head wrestling coach. His 2019-20 squad finished as State Champions with 7 individual qualifiers and 4 placers. Coach Simons has won numerous league and state coach of the year awards from OSAA, OHSCA, and the NFHS among others. He is very active at the state level; Simons serves on multiple committees including the position of OWCE Director which has allowed Simons to host international teams while also organizing travel abroad for many athletes. During the day, Coach Simons teaches Health and PE at Thurston High School.

Editor's Note: Coach Simons is very active with the Oregon Wrestling Association, the USA Wrestling state association for Oregon, and involved on the regional and national levels.

This year the NWCA expanded the awards program to recognize not just a single assistant coach for a program, but rather the entire coaching staff. This year, six coaches from Penn High School (IN) have been recognized as both the National and Indiana staff of the year. The Penn staff is comprised of Kaitlin Dickman, Mariah Eberhart, Amy Hildebrandt, Kristen Hills, Jay Reppert, Matt Selis. The 2019-2020 squad swept their four regular-season tournaments as well as the regional and state meets. This marked the fourth season in a row that the team won the state championship.

“The NWCA is proud to provide a platform to help recognize outstanding coaches at both the state and national levels. Coaches have the ability to positively impact the lives of their athletes and ultimately change the fabric of a community,” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. “While we are recognizing these winners, we also want to thank each coach out there as they give so much of themselves to their program and athletes.”

The winners of the Boys High School Coach of the Year awards will be released next.

STATE – SCHOLASTIC GIRLS HEAD COACH OF THE YEAR

SECTION	COACH	SCHOOL	STATE
Section 1	Farid Syed	Kingsway Regional High School	New Jersey
Section 2	George Shore	Miami East High School	Ohio
Section 3	Ty Abero	Greenbrier High School	Georgia
Section 3	Brian Olson	Overills High School	North Carolina
Section 3	Cain Beard	Rock Hill High School	South Carolina
Section 3	Jenna Morris	Tullahoma High School	Tennessee
Section 4	Brad Harper	Penn High School	Indiana
Section 5	Damon Parker	Washburn Rural High School	Kansas
Section 5	Eric Devenney	Harrisonville High School	Missouri
Section 6	Jerry Evans	Searcy High School	Arkansas
Section 6	Nate Sellers	Miyamura High School	New Mexico
Section 7	Sean Flanigan	Ironwood HS	Arizona
Section 7	Robert Flores	James Logan High School	California
Section 7	Robert Hesia	Kamehameha Schools Kapalama	Hawaii
Section 7	Ben Szabo	Westlake High School	Utah
Section 8	Junior Lambert	North Pole High School	Alaska
Section 8	Mike Simons	Thurston High School	Oregon
Section 8	Dom Duncan	Hanford High School	Washington

STATE – SCHOLASTIC GIRLS ASSISTANT COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR

SECTION	COACH	SCHOOL	STATE
Section 3	Britney Hammock	Lamar County High School	Georgia
Section 3	Scott Hammock	Lamar County High School	Georgia
Section 3	Jonathan Bischoff	Lamar County High School	Georgia
Section 3	Justin Williams	Rock Hill High School	South Carolina
Section 3	Ryan Whitmore	Rock Hill High School	South Carolina
Section 3	Mary Catherine Correia	Collierville High School	Tennessee
Section 4	Matt Selis	Penn High School	Indiana
Section 4	Amy Hildebrandt	Penn High School	Indiana
Section 4	Mariah Eberhart	Penn High School	Indiana
Section 4	Jay reppert	Penn High School	Indiana
Section 4	Kaitlin Dickman	Penn High School	Indiana
Section 4	Kristen Hills	Penn High School	Indiana
Section 5	Mike Schridde	Great Bend High School	Kansas
Section 5	Jeremy Foster	Great Bend High School	Kansas
Section 5	Brian Schriddle	Great Bend High School	Kansas
Section 5	Kristy Creamer	Great Bend High School	Kansas
Section 5	Bobby Herrick	Harrisonville High School	Missouri
Section 5	Shannon Lineberry	Harrisonville High School	Missouri
Section 5	James Pesek	Harrisonville High School	Missouri
Section 5	Daniel Jennings	Harrisonville High School	Missouri
Section 6	Dusty Bowman	Har-Ber High School	Arkansas
Section 6	Godwal “Ed” Viera	Har-Ber High School	Arkansas
Section 6	Jacob Robertson	Har-Ber High School	Arkansas
Section 6	Ozzy Guerrero	Miyamura High School	New Mexico
Section 7	Michael Garcia	Basha HS	Arizona
Section 7	Eric Toraya	Basha HS	Arizona
Section 7	David Whitten	Basha HS	Arizona
Section 7	Nguyey Tran	James Logan High School	California
Section 7	Colin Malcolm	James Logan High School	California
Section 7	Eli Bagaosian	James Logan High School	California
Section 7	Allen Chan	James Logan High School	California
Section 7	Danny Mai	James Logan High School	California
Section 7	Fallyn Kapoi	Kamehameha Schools Kapalama	Hawaii
Section 7	Kelii Ross	Kamehameha Schools Kapalama	Hawaii
Section 7	Shana Dilliner	Kamehameha Schools Kapalama	Hawaii
Section 7	Chris West	Kamehameha Schools Kapalama	Hawaii
Section 7	Cody Burdett	Westlake High School	Utah
Section 7	Emily Finlinson	Westlake High School	Utah
Section 8	Jeff Cardwell	Thurston High School	Oregon
Section 8	Guy Harris	Thurston High School	Oregon
Section 8	Madison Simons	Thurston High School	Oregon
Section 8	Joe Gardner	Thurston High School	Oregon
Section 8	Austin Hughes	Thurston High School	Oregon
Section 8	Chris Dicugno	White River High School	Washington
Section 8	Jeff Moore	White River High School	Washington
Section 8	Randy Beddow	White River High School	Washington