82 wrestlers advanced to state tournament with Genoa's Wagner as coach at various stops
Rich Wagner looked up all the state qualifiers in program history and posted them on a board in the wrestling room after he took his first post as a head wrestling coach at Eastwood.
He did the same at Fostoria, Genoa and Oregon Clay.
“That’s the whole thing,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to be a state qualifier and a state placer. That’s what we emphasized, that’s what you want to do. Those who didn’t do it, they got better trying.”
Eighty-two wrestler qualified to state with Wagner as their coach in some capacity. Thirty-two wrestlers placed at the state tournament.
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Seven won state championships, including Tony Lopez and Nick Purdue (twice) for the Comets. Nick Borjas and Kurt Wolff each finished second, Purdue finished third once and Wolff seventh.
Wagner, 70, will be inducted into Ohio’s high school athletic hall of fame Sunday before the finals at the state tournament in Columbus in March.
“It’s a great honor to be with those guys who have done those things in wrestling and as a whole teaching,” he said.
“Not knowing much what to do as a coach,” he was head coach at Eastwood for two years, until 1984. He was head coach at Fostoria the next four years. He was then at Genoa until 2010.
Fostoria tied for fourth in the state in Division II in 1988, including Ohio champ Maco Gonzalez.
“We always tried to learn the basics,” he said. “Work on mental toughness. Be in better condition when we walked out. We had a saying, ‘Just do your job.’ Do your best. If you lose wrestling your best match, we can change what you didn’t do well.”
Wagner retired from teaching at Genoa in 2012 and was an assistant at Clay the next 10 years. He was an assistant at Maumee for three years starting in 1980 and he volunteered at Eastwood the last two seasons to bookend his career.
“Coaching, you want those guys to do well and be respectful and do the right things and learn to work hard and finish a job,” he said. “Learn how to be a better person.”
Wagner liked to think of trying to outdo his coaching peers as similar to what his wrestlers were trying to do on the mat. He was recognized Division III coach of the year by the Greater Toledo Wrestling Coaches Association in 2001, 2005 and 2006 for Genoa.
He earned the award at Fostoria in 1988. He had one wrestler advance to state every year at Genoa, except his last.
“I was fortunate to have guys qualify for state right away,” he said of success breeding success.
Wagner’s son Doug Wagner was his final state qualifier at Genoa. Dad let his assistants do much of the coaching.
“Coaching your own son is difficult,” he said. “People think it’s preferential treatment. They probably get yelled at more. I had to come home with him. He’s trying to make weight, it’s tough enough as a coach not your son.”
Wagner was the first state qualifier for Woodmore as a junior, before graduating in 1972. He fell victim as a senior to the follow your man format, where you only wrestled again if your opponent continued to win.
“You always appreciate those guys who work their tails off and do the best they can,” he said. “You don’t win championships, it takes the whole team to win league and district and other tournaments. At state, all the guys in the room made him a better wrestler.
"If he wins a championship, even JV are part of the [victory].”
mhorn@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Genoa OHSAA wrestling
