Jason SchweerSchweer comes to Kansas Wesleyan after serving as an assistant coach at University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark. for the past three seasons, where he helped develop a new program into a competitive program at the NCAA Division III level. While at Ozarks, he helped the Eagles post their first-ever winning season in 2016-17 while also earning the program's first-ever individual win at a NCAA Regional that year. The Eagles placed fourth in the 2017 Southeast Conference Tournament and had nine Top-7 finishers at the event.
Schweer sees similarities between Kansas Wesleyan and Ozarks.
"Similar in population as far as the student body, both very awesome campus communities and very supportive," Schweer told the Salina Journal. "I think Salina's the perfect spot to get things going. This university's beautiful, it's a close-knit environment, lot of great things going on here for us to get things going.
"I got to Ozarks in their second year, so I'm familiar with the new program aspect of things. It is a lot of fun to get things up and running and show people what wrestling looks like at the college level and experience it."
Prior to Ozarks, Schweer served as an assistant coach for two seasons for his college alma mater, Grand View University in Des Moines. While at Grand View, the Vikings won two NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) National Championships, part of their current run of seven-straight titles, had 24 National Qualifiers, 20 NAIA All-Americans and six NAIA National Champions.
Schweer's career as a student-athlete was also impressive. He was part of Grand View's 2012 NAIA National Championship team and was a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete. Before arriving at Grand View, Schweer wrestled at North Iowa Area Community College, where he helped the Trojans to a fourth-place finish at the 2008 NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) National Championships and a second place finish at the 2009 NJCAA National Duals. Schweer was a two-time NJCAA Academic All-American Award recipient.
In Kansas Wesleyan's official announcement of his hiring, Schweer said, "I want to thank President Dr. Matt Thompson and Athletic Director Mike Hermann for believing in me and giving me a chance to become a head coach."
"Kansas Wesleyan is a close-knit community, and that was evident the second I stepped on campus. From the top down, I am confident I will have the support and structure to help the program grow and flourish. Outside of the on-campus support, the community of Salina has a rich wrestling history and many supportive community members that are hungry to be involved in the growth of the Coyote Wrestling family."
"I am fired up to take the reins of this program in this community," Schweer added. "This is a great environment for a young program to grow and develop, and to be a part of getting this program off the ground is an amazing opportunity. We have all the tools we need to be very successful here, now it's time to get work."
Kansas Wesleyan University is a private four-year Christian-based college located in Salina, Kansas. Founded in 1886, KWU has approximately 850 students.
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