Jordan Junior Wrestling Dives Into New Season

(Sandy, Utah) Oct. 30, 2008 — Jordan Junior Wrestling dives into the 2008-2009 junior high/middle school wrestling season with its third year under coach Bill Kilpack (III), a national AAU wrestling champion and alternate for the Greco-Roman Pan-Am team; and his father, Bill Kilpack (Jr.), one of the original coaches of the much lauded Sundance Wrestling Club.  Joining the Jordan Junior Wrestling coaching staff are five new coaches, excited to make a difference.

"I'm very excited for this season," Kilpack said.  "We continue to make strides from year to year.  Now, with some new coaches bringing some new elements of expertise into the mix, I fully expect this to be the best year yet."

Joining the coaching staff this year are Mike Christiansen of Riverton, Nick Eoll of Sandy, Dusty Fisher of Lindon, Andrew Lukanich of Cottonwood Heights and Todd Schwendiman of South Jordan.

Last season, the team repeated its sixth-place finish in the Middle School Division at the 4A/5A Junior High State Championships, with only 20 scoring wrestlers competing.  "We had a very young team last year, mostly fifth, sixth and seventh graders.  We had a couple surprise upsets that went against us, but we still placed 11 of the of the 20, and three were in the finals."

Practices are slated to begin on Nov. 10 at Jordan High School, and will be held three days a week from 7–8:30 p.m.  With the Middle School and Junior High Divisions now available, athletes from fifth to ninth grades (so long as they are not wrestling on a high-school wrestling team) are eligible.

This year’s coaching staff has a long and successful wrestling history.

Kilpack (III) of West Jordan was an original member of the Sundance Wrestling Club, arguably the finest freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling team in Utah history. As a competitor, he garnered an AAU national championship, seven national silver medals, seven more national medals, and was a member of the Pan-Am team in Greco-Roman wrestling holding an alternate position. In addition, he was named All-American 15 times by AAU, the US Wrestling Federation or USA Wrestling in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling; was a seven-time Zone/Western Regional champion; and a six-time state champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He is the head coach of Mountain Top Wrestling Club which, in 2007, was the Team State Champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Kilpack (Jr.) of West Jordan was one of the two original coaches of the Sundance Wrestling Club, and a member of the University of Utah wrestling team. Sundance was arguably the finest freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling team in Utah history, producing the first two world champions from Utah, and dozens of other international and national honors.  He was also a member of the University of Utah wrestling team.

Christiansen was a varsity wrestler at Bingham High School. It was during this time that he came to appreciate the competitive nature of wrestling and other sports, culminating in being ranked number two in the state as a senior in wrestling, and playing on a baseball team that won six straight state titles, starting prior to and continuing on into high school. 
As an adult, he has coached community sports such as wrestling, baseball and girls softball.

Eoll comes to Jordan Junior Wrestling after serving eight years in the U.S. Army. He wrestled six years in Washington state, where he was the Seamount League Champ in 1997. He was a varsity wrestler at Mt. Si High in North Bend, and wrestled freestyle through a USA Wrestling club in the area. He wrestled there until 1999, when he joined the service. Nick has since studied Karate, Jeet Kune Do and Jiu-Jitsu. He has also coached community sports such as baseball and soccer.

Fisher wrestled for 11 years, starting at a young age, focusing on folkstyle and freestyle wrestling. During that time, he wrestled the likes of a young Cael Sanderson, and was never once pinned by any opponent. His wrestling career culminated in his varsity position at Orem High School, where he beat two two-time state champions before an elbow injury ended his competitive career.

Lukanich started wrestling when he was six years old in the state of Illinois. He went on to wrestle for Lyons Township High School, where he earned state runner-up honors his senior year and was ranked twelfth in the country at 135 lbs. In freestyle and Greco-Roman, he earned multiple state championships and was a member of the Illinois national teams, where he competed in USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior Nationals in Fargo, as well as the FILA Cadet Nationals, where he finished fourth at 63 kilos. Following high school, he spent two years wrestling in college under Olympic bronze medalist Terry Brands before transferring to the University of Illinois, where he competed in the Big 10.

Schwendiman was a varsity wrestler at Woods Cross High School for four years, culminating in a second-in-state ranking his senior year. It was during this time that he came to love the sport and everything about it, including its value in teaching kids real life lessons and preparing them for adulthood. As an adult, he has coached community sports such as baseball and soccer, and served for many years in Boy Scouts as a Scout Master.

Jordan Junior Wrestling is a folkstyle wrestling program offered through Salt Lake County Recreation, operating out or Jordan High School in Sandy.  For more information, go to www.jordanjuniorwrestling.com or email jordanjuniors@aol.com.

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