East Ridge High School announces that Matt Everson will be the Head Wrestling Coach starting this fall. Everson was an assistant coach for the past four seasons at Totino-Grace helping the team to three conference titles, two Section 5AA titles, and a fifth place (2014) State Tournament finish.
Starting wrestling at a young age, in his hometown of Mitchell, South Dakota; Everson went on to compete in college at the University of Minnesota from 2004-2010. During his time at the U of M, Everson was a four year letter winner, placing 7th at the Big Ten Conference tournament in 2009. He was also a member of the National Championship team in 2006 and 2007.
“I’m looking forward to getting on the mat with these young men and women as I know there is a lot of potential,” Everson said. “Having the support of a great school, coaching staff and the community will allow us to focus this first year in creating a fun, learning environment that will help us create a little buzz and build the program.”
Everson has a Master of Education degree in Applied Kinesiology (Sports Management) and enjoys working with students to inspire and motivate them to be their best. Everson also served in the U.S. Army National Guard from 2003-2009 and during this time was deployed to Iraq for one year.
The East Ridge Raptors will kick off their season on December 4th at home against Mounds View with returning senior Zach Dreher and juniors Sam Christianson, Jovanny Garcia, and Rob Scott. East Ridge will also look to young talent in sophomores Carson Lesher, Ty Okada, and Jamze Powers.