Wrestling Talk Forums supported
USA Wrestling Kansas KWCA
Wrestling Talk Forums supported & maintained by USA Wrestling-Kansas
USAW USA Wrestling Kansas
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,595
Member
Member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,595
COLBY CRANK HIRED AS THE NEW MEN'S WRESTLING COACH
Men's Wrestling - Wed, May 23, 2018 at 10:35 AM
OTTAWA, Kan. – Ottawa University Director of Athletics, Arabie Conner, is pleased to announce the hiring of Colby Crank as the new head men's wrestling coach.

"We believe Coach Crank is an outstanding addition to the Braves wrestling program given his history of success in wrestling and his contagious enthusiasm," said Connor. "He is a Kansas native who has strong ties to the wrestling community both as a competitor and now as a coach. He is highly relatable to student-athletes and we expect his positive energy will create a great student experience and bring much success to our program as we continue to build it."

Before coming to OU, Crank was an assistant coach with the men's wrestling program at Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan. He made a quick and immediate impact as he helped the Cougars improve from a ranking of 24th to a final ranking of 9th in the NJCAA National Rankings. Additionally, he helped lead the Cougars to a top five finish at national duals, coached nine national qualifiers and three NJCAA All-Americans, including no. 1 Kade Sander in the 157 pound weight class. Sander was the first national champion in BCC program history.

Prior to coaching at BCC, Crank was an assistant coach at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan. Crank helped the Wildcats to a top four finish at national duals, coached six NAIA national qualifiers and two NAIA All-Americans.

"I would like to thank Ottawa University and the administration for believing in my vision for the program and allowing me to come on board," said Crank. "Wrestling has been a huge part of my life since I was five years old, and to be able to stay involved in this sport, especially in this capacity, means the world to me. Through my time in the sport, I have met many incredible individuals who have helped mold me, and I look forward to carrying that torch in helping these young men on their journeys, both on and off the mat. Coaching is something I am truly passionate about and through the University's support and belief I know we can build something very special. I am excited to get to work!"

A highly accomplished wrestler, Crank was a four-time NAIA All-American and a two time national finalist. In his collegiate career, Crank had more than 100 wins and was named to the NWCA All-Academic Team four-times. He was a three-time NAIA All-American at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., where he was the first NAIA men's wrestling All-American and national finalist in program history. Crank attended Baker University his senior season and was a 2016 NAIA National Champion in the 157 pound weight class. He defeated No. 2 ranked Grant Henderson of Grand View University in the national championship match with a 4-3 decision. Crank was named KWCA Senior College Wrestler of the Year. He graduated from Baker University with a double major in business management and psychology and was a four-time academic All-American and two-time academic national finalist.

Crank is a native of Hutchinson, Kan., where he was a three-time Kansas State Tournament wrestling medal winner. Twice, he was a finalist at the state tournament and won the state championship as a senior.

He begins his coaching duties immediately.


Are you making a POSITIVE difference in the life of kids?

Randy Hinderliter
USAW Kansas
KWCA Rep/Coaches Liaison
Ottawa University Volunteer Assistant
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,595
Member
Member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,595
I am extremely excited about this!!


Are you making a POSITIVE difference in the life of kids?

Randy Hinderliter
USAW Kansas
KWCA Rep/Coaches Liaison
Ottawa University Volunteer Assistant
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 6,248
S
Member
Member
S Offline
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 6,248
Congrats Coach Crank well deserved- A testament to The Garcia Coaching tree and Hutch wrestling developing
quality leaders as well.

Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,595
Member
Member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 8,595
Yes, Cody Garcia is a great role model!! Yet I am sure Cody would credit Mike Denney and the former University of Nebraska-Omaha program!!

Last edited by usawks1; 05/25/18 01:18 AM.

Are you making a POSITIVE difference in the life of kids?

Randy Hinderliter
USAW Kansas
KWCA Rep/Coaches Liaison
Ottawa University Volunteer Assistant

Moderated by  RichardDSalyer 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 4 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Super Admin, bvswwrestling, CoachFitzOS, Dluce, Shawn Russell
12,303 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums11
Topics36,091
Posts250,722
Members12,303
Most Online1,305
Mar 13th, 2025
Top Posters
usawks1 8,595
smokeycabin 6,248
Aaron Sweazy 5,262
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 8.0.0
(Release build 20240826)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 8.3.23 Page Time: 0.024s Queries: 22 (0.016s) Memory: 3.0193 MB (Peak: 3.5912 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2025-08-01 11:44:41 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS