Jamill Kelly (Arizona State) Assistant Coach
A 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist in Athens, Greece, Kelly is a two-time World Team member and four-time US National Team member. A US Open Champion, he also is a two-time Pan Am Games silver medalist. Kelly was born in Atwater, California, where he attended Atwater High School and placed fourth in the state wrestling tournament as a senior. He spent one year at Lassen Community College then transferred to Oklahoma State where he became a three-time letter winner.
Most recently, he leaves Stanford as the Associate Head Coach, also previously coaching at NC State (2012-14) where he helped guide Nick Gwiazdowski to an NCAA Championship at heavyweight.
Prior to NC State, he coached at Cal Poly (2011-12) where he helped Boris Novachkov to a third-place finish at NCAA’s, the Dallas Dynamite Wrestling Club (2008-11) where he coached and mentored Dallas area youths, and Harvard (2007) where he helped coach the team to their highest NCAA finish in program history.
In freestyle coaching, Kelly is currently a member of the USA Wrestling national coaches pool and will also serve as a coach of the Sunkist Kids Regional Training Center based in Scottsdale, Arizona. He recently served as the USA Cadet World Team Coach from 2013-15 where he coached four Cadet World Champions including Aaron Pico, Spencer Lee, Mark Hall, and Mason Manville.
In 2016, he was a USA Junior World Team Coach and was on the support staff for the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. He also helped establish the California Regional Training Center.
Chris Pendleton (Oregon State) Head Coach
On March 30, 2020, Pendleton was announced as the new head coach for Oregon State. During Pendleton’s six-year assistant coaching run at Arizona State, the Sun Devils won three of the past four Pac-12 titles, including the 2020 championship.
ASU finished the season ranked No. 6 nationally, and its resume included a win over No. 1 Penn State, ending the Nittany Lions’ 60-match winning streak. Pendleton was an extraordinary college wrestler, running up a 118-12 record with two NCAA titles and three All-American honors from 2001-05 career at Oklahoma State. Pendleton was also the Big 12 champion in his weight class in both 2003 and 2005. In 2012, InterMat Magazine named him one of the 10 Best College Wrestlers of the 2000s.
During his time at Wyoming, Pendleton specialized in training the team’s upper weights and played a critical role in the team’s success. With the Cowboys, Pendleton’s athletes made great impacts on the team, with his wrestlers winning back-to-back West Regional titles, two-straight All-American honors and multiple conference championships. Under the supervision of Pendleton, UW also won its fourth regular-season Mountain West dual-title in six years.
Pendleton is still active in the U.S. freestyle scene and wrestles in various competitions throughout the world. In April 2014, he competed in the ASICS Las Vegas/Open Wrestling Championships at 97 kilograms (213 pounds). Pendleton was also a three-time member of the U.S. National Team under current Arizona State head coach Zeke Jones.
As a high school wrestler, Pendleton was the 145-pound CIF state champion in 2001 while competing at Lemoore High.
Derek Moore (Cal Baptist) Assistant Coach
A former NCAA Division I standout and California Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee joined California Baptist University Wrestling’s coaching staff in May 2017.
Moore spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach helping rebuild the program at Division I Sacred Heart University. Sacred Heart earned two top-10 All-Academic finishes and had four Pioneers secure top-eight individual finishes at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships in Moore’s four seasons.
The move reunited him with Head Coach Lennie Zalesky, who he wrestled under at UC Davis from 2003 to 2007. After walking on to the program at Davis, Moore became the first Aggie in any sport to win an individual NCAA championship at the 2007 Division I Championships.
The former 141-pounder won two Pac-10 championships at his weight class in 2006 and 2007. Moore was voted the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Championships in 2007 after he went 5-0 in the tournament and upset top-seeded Ryan Lang of Northwestern with a 17-2 technical fall.
Moore was also named the Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year and UC Davis Male Athlete of the Year in 2007. A native of Redding, California, Moore was a three-time Northern Section Champion and two-time CIF state place winner (seventh and fifth) for Shasta High.
Isaac Blackburn (Cal Poly) Volunteer Assistant Coach
Blackburn became a volunteer assistant coach of the Mustangs in the fall of 2019. Blackburn earned 12 victories in his Mustang wrestling career, including three as a sophomore, four in open tournaments during his redshirt season and five as a freshman. He recorded one fall and two of his wins were in dual meets.
Blackburn was a four-year starter at 106 pounds under head coaches Dave Sanchez and Clint Madden at Del Oro High School in Loomis. He helped the Golden Eagles to three straight Sierra Foothill League team titles and a CIF-Sac-Joaquin Section championship in 2012. Blackburn placed fifth in the 2012 state finals at Bakersfield after claiming Sierra Foothill League and CIF-Sac-Joaquin Section divisional titles and placing third in the CIF-Sac-Joaquin Masters Meet. He finished his senior season with 49 wins, including 21 falls. After his junior season, which included a first-place finish in the league finals, second in divisional finals and second in the masters meet tournament, Blackburn captured a national title at 106 pounds at the Senior National High School Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Manuel Rivera (Cal State Bakersfield) Head Coach
Manny Rivera was named head wrestling coach at CSU Bakersfield in July of 2016 following five years as an assistant at Big-12-member North Dakota State. He becomes just the fourth head coach in program history.
In 2015, he helped coach senior 174-pounder Kurtis Julson to an eighth-place finish and 184-pound junior Hayden Zillmer to a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. As a team, the Bison won the NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference championship with 70.5 points with five individual champions and one runner-up.
Rivera joined NDSU in 2011 after spending one year as an assistant coach at Virginia and two years as a graduate assistant at Minnesota. While at Virginia, he helped coach two All-America performers.
A native of El Monte, Calif., Rivera was a three-time NCAA qualifier at Minnesota and earned All-America honors as a senior after finishing seventh at 141 pounds at the NCAA Championships. He was also a starter on Minnesota’s 2007 national championship team. He finished his career with a record of 113-40 and 27 pins and was team captain as a senior.
Efren Ceballos (Cal State Bakersfield) Volunteer Assistant Coach
Efren Ceballos is in his 11th season as a member of the Bakersfield wrestling program. Ceballos is one of five four-time NCAA Division I qualifiers in the CSU Bakersfield program (2002-05). Ceballos earned All-American honors as a junior at 125 pounds. Ceballos was a four-time Pac-12 place winner, finishing second at 133 pounds as a freshman, second at 125 as a sophomore, fourth at 125 as a junior, and second at 125 as a senior. Ceballos is seventh in school history in career wins with 114.
A native of Manteca, California, Ceballos competed for Manteca High where he was a three-time state qualifier and CIF place winner by placing fourth at 119-pounds in 2000.
Cody Pack (North Dakota State University) Volunteer Assistant Coach
Cody Pack was named volunteer assistant wrestling coach at North Dakota State University in August 2019. Currently, Pack is training for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics in the Greco-Roman discipline. He has placed 4th and 5th at the U.S. World Trials and was a residential athlete at the Olympic Training Center in 2016-17. Had a career record of 192-6 at the high school level competing for Quincy High. He was a six-time Fargo AA champion, nine-time California freestyle/Greco/Folkstyle state champion, and two-time USA triple crown winner
A 2016 graduate of South Dakota State was a four-time NCAA qualifier for the Jackrabbits during his career and the program’s climb up the national ladder. He posted a 116-36 career record for SDSU including 55-12 in duals. Pack was a two-time NCAA West Region/Western Wrestling Conference champion in 2014 and 2015, and a Big 12 Conference runner-up in 2016. He was selected to wrestle at the 50th Annual National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic in October 2015.
Jake Varner (Penn State) Assistant Coach
NCAA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Jake Varner is in his fourth season as an assistant coach at Penn State. Varner moved to State College after an outstanding career at Iowa State University. The Cyclone ended his collegiate career as the best in the country, winning the 197-pound title in 2010. Varner posted a 31-0 record as a senior and was 121-10 over the course of his career. The NCAA title he won as a senior was his second, having won his first as a junior in 2009. Varner was the 184-pound NCAA finalist as a sophomore and freshman. One of Iowa State’s all-time greats, Varner was a four-time All-American, four-time NCAA finalist and two-time NCAA Champion.
As a freestyle wrestler, Varner reached the sport’s pinnacle by claiming the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal at 96kg in London. His performance in the Olympics capped off a stellar 2012 that also saw him win the Pan American Games Gold and the Yarygan Bronze. He also claimed a World Bronze in 2011 in Istanbul.
Varner was a two-time California High School champion and four-time place winner for Bakersfield High amazed a 159-10 career record with 132 falls.
Alex Tirapelle (Stanford) Assistant Coach
Former Stanford wrestling assistant coach Alex Tirapelle rejoined the staff in 2017-18 after spending three seasons as the head coach at Penn. He begins his third season as an assistant coach and his seventh overall as a part of the Cardinal program in 2019-20.
Tirapelle served as an assistant coach for Stanford from 2010-14 before becoming the head coach at Penn (2014-17). While on The Farm, Tirapelle helped guide the Cardinal to its best dual season record in school history with a 17-5 mark in 2013-14. That year’s team sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships – tying a then-school record. Four of the five NCAA qualifiers were Pac-12 champions, also a school record.
In his six combined seasons at Stanford, Tirapelle has helped coach 22 wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships, including Stanford’s second three-time All-American and first two-time NCAA finalist in Nick Amuchastegui. The Cardinal has earned five total All-America honors during Tirapelle’s tenure, including three at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia – the highest All-America output at any NCAA Championships by a Stanford squad. The three All-Americans in 2011 propelled the Cardinal to an 11th-place finish overall, the highest team finish in program history.
As a wrestler for Clovis High, Tirapelle was a Three-time California State Champion, High School National Champion, Dave Schultz Award winner for the Western region, Dapper Dan Classic member, and Dream Team member.
As a college wrestler for Illinois University, Tirapelle became the first freshman NCAA finalist in school history. Lost to No. 6 Ryan Bertin of Michigan in the finals of the NCAA Championships to take second and become an All-American as a freshman. As a sophomore, he earned his second All-America honor with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Was the No. 1 seed for the national tournament, following an undefeated regular season. Entered the NCAAs as one of only five unbeaten wrestlers. Won the Big Ten title at 157 pounds, defeating defending national champion Ryan Bertin of Michigan, 6-0 in the finals.
Nate Engel (Stanford) Volunteer Assistant Coach
Nate Engel enters his second season on the Stanford staff in 2019-20 after being an assistant at Navy from 2014-18. Engel serves as the Director of the California RTC program, as he has extensive ties with USA Wrestling. He coached the U.S. Junior Greco World Team at the Junior World Championships in Slovakia in September 2018.
During his first season on The Farm in 2018-19, he helped lead the Cardinal to its first Pac-12 team title. Stanford had two individual champions and sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh. The Cardinal also finished fourth as a team at the Southern Scuffle – also a program-best.
An elite senior level competitor, he pursued a Greco career full-time, training at Northern Michigan under Ivan Ivanov. A two-time member of the U.S. National Team, Engel was the runner-up at the 2013 World Team Trials. He won the 2012 Haparanda Cup and took silver at the 2013 Haavisto Tournament. He was also the Maccabiah Games Champion in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman at 55 kg in 2013 while taking home to bronze medals in 2017.
Engel attended St. Helena High for his first three years where he was a CIF state qualifier before attending Pasco High School (Dade City, Florida) as a senior in 2002. He took second at the state meet in Florida before going on to wrestle for William Penn University (Oskaloosa, Ia.) and Missouri Valley College (Marshall, Mo.). Engel was a four-time NAIA national qualifier. He garnered All-America honors in 2005 following a third-place finish at the NAIA Wrestling Championship and was the 2007 University Greco-Roman National Champion at 55 kg.
Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) Volunteer Assistant Coach
Isaiah Martínez brought three State Titles to Lemoore high school and moved on to have a successful collegiate freshman year going undefeated at the University of Illinois. Isaiah went on to become the most successful wrestler in the University of Illinois Wrestling Program winning 98.9% of his matches. Isaiah has received many awards honoring his accomplishments both on and off the mat. Isaiah is a 4x NCAA Finalist and 2x NCAA Champion and 4x Big Ten Champion. He went on to win the 2018 US Open and U23 Nationals among many other accomplishments.
