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HERRIMAN — U.S. Olympian and Wyoming native Rulon Gardner has been named head wrestling coach at Herriman High School, school officials said.
Gardner has aspirations of growing the school’s wrestling program beyond Utah’s borders, with national titles in mind, according to Herriman High School athletics director Brad Tingey.
“We feel like it’s a good fit for us,” Tingey said Friday. “We think he’ll be able to elevate our program and get us to higher places.”
Gardner was out of the state on Friday and was not available for comment.
Gardner won gold in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympics, beating Russian wrestler Alexander Karelin in what is known as one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, according to Gardner’s website.
He also earned a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and later competed on the NBC show “The Biggest Loser.”
The Herriman wrestling program had about 36 athletes last season, but it has had numbers in the 40s and 50s in past years, Tingey said. He considers the school’s wrestling team in the top 10 for the state, but it is not quite yet among the best of the best.
“We think our wrestling program is in a really good position now, and we think Rulon can be the catalyst … to elevate it into one of the elite wrestling programs in the state,” Tingey said.
The previous wrestling coach, who is still working as a paraprofessional at the school, decided to stop coaching because he was busy with other responsibilities, Tingey said.
Tryouts are in November for wrestling, which is a winter sport, Tingey added. With a strong youth wrestling program in place and a committed coach in Gardner, Tingey said the goal is to compete for regional and state titles.
“We think he’s going to fit in well with our other coaches,” Tingey said of Gardner. “I just think he’s going to be an asset to not only the wrestling program but our school, and we’re excited to have him on.”
