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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa two-time NCAA champion Brent Metcalf is moving from one red, white, and blue little town to another.
USA Wrestling announced Thursday that Metcalf has been named United States National Freestyle Developmental Coach. He will coach USA Wrestling’s age-group men’s freestyle World Teams, the freestyle resident athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, and the athletes on the senior national team. He will assist Bill Zadick, a former Hawkeye national champion that was named National Freestyle Head Coach in June 2016.
“This is a challenge that I’m excited about,” Metcalf said. “It is something I have been doing the last seven years, working to make the United States the best in the world in freestyle wrestling. The work we have done at this level is proving itself with our recent results and I am excited to continue to be a part of it.”
Metcalf has spent the past 10 years living in Iowa City, Iowa, competing for the Hawkeyes and Hawkeye Wrestling Club. He will relocate to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in May with his wife, Kristen, and sons, Chase and Cole, to join the Team USA coaching staff.
“Iowa City is the greatest wrestling town in the world and I’ll always be able to call it home,” Metcalf said. “I met my wife here, we started our family here, and I’ve learned lessons and values from Tom and Terry Brands that continue to guide me in my everyday life.
“I’ll always be a Hawkeye, and in my new role I’ll continue to work with Hawkeyes on a national and international level. That will never change.”
Metcalf won four Michigan state titles in high school before committing to Tom Brands and Virginia Tech in 2005. When Brands took the head coaching job at Iowa in 2006, Metcalf transferred to the Hawkeyes and eventually won two national titles in three seasons of eligibility. He was 108-3 at Iowa from 2008-10, and his .972 winning percentage ranks second in program history.
He graduated from Iowa in 2010, immediately joined the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, and was a member of four United States World Teams.
He won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Canada and claimed World Cup gold medals in 2014 and 2015 in Los Angeles, California. He won major international events at the 2014 UWW Golden Grand Prix Finals in Azerbaijan and the 2011 Olympic Test Event in England. Metcalf won a silver medal at the 2013 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia, considered one of the toughest competitions in the world.
“Freestyle wrestling is something that I have always been passionate about,” Metcalf said. “My family is excited about the move to Colorado. In this position, you are on the biggest stage in wrestling, the World Championships and Olympic Games. I have geared my life towards this, and now I get to be a leader for those who follow.
“There is a good thing going on under Bill Zadick. It is already showing in the success at that international level. We have to keep it going and take it to another level.”
“I have respected Brent Metcalf for a long time,” Zadick said. “He is a fierce competitor. We all know his record on the mat. Going back into the age groups with the Developmental job, which is important to me, he was a record-setter with six Fargo titles. His record speaks for itself. On top of that, he is a great person, a family man, honest and trustworthy, and he works very hard. He is a grounded individual. Those are all characteristics we want to promote with our developmental athletes. He brings a lot to the program and I am excited to start working with him on a daily basis.”
Metcalf is one of three Hawkeyes on the Team USA coaching staff, joining Zadick and Terry Steiner, who has led the United States women’s national freestyle team since 2002.
