New Ulm Wrestling
By Brian Jerzak
One of the highlights of the 2026 Minnesota State High School Wrestling tournament was the emergence of the New Ulm Eagles. Not only did the Eagles advance to State for the second time in history, but they also made their first trip to the state finals – ultimately falling to Simley 38-13. The Eagles’ best season in their history didn’t happen overnight.
“In 2013, I moved to New Ulm,” New Ulm head coach Kevin Briggs said. “This group of parents stuck together. We took the kids to practices; we took them to tournaments. More importantly, the parents got along, hung out together, and kept the kids involved. Last year’s team was thirteen years in the making.”
Before Briggs could head up the Eagles’ turnaround, the future wrestling coach had to decide which sport was going to occupy his time in the winter.
“I am from a small town – Cornell, Wisconsin,” Briggs said. “I got involved in athletics. My older brother wrestled. I played basketball and wrestled both until ninth grade. I learned that if I was going to control my own destiny and my own work ethic, I had to wrestle and not play basketball.”