Impactful Coaches

Bob "BAGUBA" Horning [144-44-6]

Bob Horning created the first wrestling powerhouse south of the James River, Thomas Dale, during the 1980s.  He is the Father of Thomas Dale Wrestling

3 State Champions, 14 State medalists, 13 Central Regional Champions, 

6 Central District, 2 Central Regional Championships.

His initial spark was continued by Ray Ward, Chris Persing among others

Jim Copp

After leading two different programs outside of the state of Virginia, Coach Copp started the L.C. Bird Program in 1978. 

3 State Champions,  7 State medalists, 6 Region Champions.  

His intial start has led to many coaches attempting to resurrect Bird Wrestling

Tim Donahue [207-146-1] * 

There were only a handful of programs in RVA as solid or dominant as Hermitage.  He led the panthers from 1977-1982 and again 1984-1999. In addition to high school, Coach Donahue headed VA Cadet & Junior Freestyle Teams 

4 State Champions, 7 State medalists, 18 Regional Champions

2 Central Regional, 3 District Championships

Ray Ward [110-75-2]

Started the Hopewell Program in 1973 and led them until 1993.  Hopewell had 2 Central Regional Champions. He moved up Route-10 and took over Thomas Dale until 2004.   

He coached 8 State Medalists 9 Region Champions.  2 Central District Titles

Dick Overton [159 Wins]

Coach Overton brought the Midlothian Trojans to the forefront of RVA wrestling when they won their 1st Regional Championship in 1987. His teams won 5 Dominion District Titles along the way.  

4  State Medalists & 4 Central Regional Champions

Drew Bright [425 Wins] * 

Coach Bright's career at Douglas Freeman from 1973- 2004 can be summed up in 2 words: Team Dominance

4 State Champions, 30 state medalist, 38 Regional Champions. 18  Colonial District, 11 Central Regional Championships, 10 Top-10 AAA State Tournament Finishes. 

1977 & 2003 VA Coach of the Year Recipient

Ricky "Dean" Shew * 

Hanover County has a proud wrestling culture. It all begins with Dean Shew. He led Stonewall Jackson (now Bell Creek) Middle School from 1984-95 to 11 undefeated undefeated seasons and a 127-7 record in dual meets.

Shew eventually followed many of his middle school wrestlers and built a regional power in Lee-Davis from 1995-2002 and 2004-06. His teams won eight Capital District titles and six Central Region titles. His last season, 2006, Lee-Davis finished Runner-up

Chad Hall [319-226-1]

Dinwiddie Generals have a proud wrestling culture, which was fostered by Chad Hall since 1998.  Nearly 30 years and they are consistenly strong.

23 State Medalists, 10 Regional Champions, and the Generals only State Champion

Michael Moore * 

Coach Moore built Petersburg into a program to be respected in the 1980s. Moore led his teams to many district and regional titles and coached Petersburg's only state champions. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he became the head coach at Virginia State University and led his team to its first state championship. Due to Title IX stipulations, Virginia State dropped wrestling in 1992.

Moore became head coach at Matoaca High School in Chesterfield, Virginia in 2005. From 2005 to 2015 Matoaca became the 1st public school wrestling program to win a VHSL State Championship. 

11 State Champions, 24 State medalists, 14 Regional Champions

Mark Helberg

Mike Stefanko [549-179-1] * 

After successful stops as a head coach for Meadowbrook for three years and Clover Hill High School for eight years, he started the newly built Cosby High School. He has led them (Titans) for 18 years.

His tenure at Cosby put the school on the wrestling map in the state as his teams won 7 Dominion District championships, 2 Conference III championships; and 2 Central Region runner-up finishes.

8 State Champions, 17 State medalists, 10 Regional Champions

Mike Faus [403-80]

"National Scene" A phrase used to describe New Kent since 2005. The Trojans have been competing on a National Scene. Coach Faus has made New Kent the 1st public school program to be recognized nationally since the 1980s.