Willaert replaces Eric Juergens who had been head coach of the Vikings for a decade. The two-time NCAA Division I champ for University of Iowa announced his departure from Augustana in May to spend more time with his family.
Tony WillaertFor the last three seasons, Willaert has led the Johnnies wrestling program. This past season, Willaert's wrestlers placed third at the NCAA West Regional, while four of his grapplers advance to the 2017 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, giving him a total of nine national qualifiers during his three seasons.
With Willaert at the helm, Johnnies wrestlers also excelled in the classroom. Four of his student-athletes earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-America honors this year and the Johnnies posted the fourth-best team grade point average in the nation.
Prior to being named head coach at St. John's, Willaert was an assistant on the Johnnie staff for three years. During that time, he mentored three All-Americans and seven Scholar All-Americans and helped lead SJU to top-three regional finishes each year.
A 2011 graduate of Saint John's, Willaert was a four-year letter winner. As a senior captain for the Johnnies, he was ranked as high as third in the nation at 197 pounds and qualified for the national meet, advancing to the round of 12. His performance helped SJU finish sixth in the nation.
Augustana is looking forward to welcoming Willaert.
"I am excited that Tony will be leading the Augustana wrestling program," said Augustana Director of Athletics Mike Zapolski. "We were fortunate to have a strong applicant pool for the position, and Tony has the vision and work ethic to continue the positive momentum established by Eric Juergens. Tony was an integral part of several solid teams at St. John's, and has an excellent track record of identifying and developing young men who want to excel in the classroom and on the wrestling mat."
"I am honored to take over the Augustana wrestling program and look forward to picking up where Eric left off," said Willaert. "I am anxious and excited to get started and I look forward to working with this team. This year's team has great potential and the future is bright as well."
Augustana is a private four-year college located in Rock Island, Ill. (one of the Quad Cities on either side of the Mississippi River). It has an enrollment of 2,500 students.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now