SPRINGFIELD, OH - It was an easy choice.
Answering a long-awaited call, Wittenberg recently announced that it will add men's and women's wrestling to its sports repertoire after a group of wrestling alumni led by Louis Cannon, class of 1980, and Chris Hackett, class of 1984, stepped forward to support the University by providing financial backing for the squads.
While the return of wrestling took a while, as the program was discontinued after the 1989-90 school year, naming a new coach was an easy task. The teams will begin competition in the 2026-27 school year under the direction of none other than Wendel Donathan, Wittenberg class of 1989, the most decorated wrestler in Wittenberg history.
"Wendel brings a wealth of coaching experience and a decorated competitive career back to Wittenberg," said Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation Brian Agler, Wittenberg class of 1980. "I do not know of anyone that is better suited to begin the comeback of the Wittenberg Wrestling Program. Immediately he will begin recruiting student athletes and filling out the coaching staff. We are all in on wrestling. The Alumni support has been spectacular."
A four-year letterwinner at Wittenberg, Donathan posted a career record of 106-28-4, making him the only Wittenberg wrestler to ever win 100 career matches. He was Wittenberg's team MVP in each of his four years, team captain for three years, and he placed first, second, and third at the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tournament in his senior, junior, and sophomore years, respectively. He capped his career with OAC Most Outstanding Wrestler honors as a senior, before becoming the first and only Tiger wrestler to earn All-America honors with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships at 134 pounds. He was inducted into Wittenberg's Athletics Hall of Honor in 2008.
Donathan said he is thrilled to bring the sport back to Wittenberg, and he is already on the recruiting trail.
"Needless to say, I am stoked, pumped, and excited for the opportunity to build and lead the program. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that coaching at the college level would ever be possible, but it has always been a goal of mine to do just this," said Donathan, a native of Mt. Orab, Ohio, who retired from teaching in June of this year from Western Brown. He also taught at Edgewood and Franklin for many years.
"Goals without commitment are only wishes," he added. "As an alum of the program, I owe it to all the alums who have made this possible to give it everything I have, just like we all did when we were athletes here."
While at Wittenberg, Donathan was also involved in intramurals as a participant and as a student director/coordinator. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and a grade 7-12 education certificate from Wittenberg and went on to achieve a comprehensive social studies certificate from the University of Cincinnati in 1991, and his master's in education from Marygrove College in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. He and his wife, Cindy, have three children in Lauren, Tanner, and Benjamin.
Donathan began coaching wrestling right out of college in 1989 and served either as an assistant or head coach at Little Miami, Edgewood, Franklin, Lebanon, and Western Brown. He has also been a coach and director for USA Wrestling-Ohio from 1993 to the present.
Earning the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association (OHSWCA) Division II State Coach of the Year honors in 2017, Donathan has coached dozens of individual state qualifiers and placers throughout his career, mentored numerous wrestlers who went on to compete in college, and has more than 200 career dual wins. He also coached the Cadet Ohio National Teams, earning a runner-up finish in 2007, and he is a member of both the Brown County and Western Brown Hall of Fame.
The return of men's wrestling and the introduction of women's wrestling create new competitive and academic opportunities for students who might not have considered Wittenberg previously. According to the most recent participation figures available from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), wrestling is the sixth-most popular sport for boys, with more than 290,000 participants nationwide, and it is among the fastest-growing sports for girls, with more than 64,000 participants.
"Reinstating the men's program, plus adding a women's program, shows the commitment of the University, and its leaders, to keep the University thriving for future generations," Donathan said. "Team members are going to be expected to be active participants in the Witt experience. It is expected that they will be leaders on the campus. They will be expected to be ambassadors within the community. When this is accomplished, both programs will attract top student-athletes to the University, and we will build programs that will compete at the highest level."
In Ohio, wrestling has long been among the most popular sports for high school boys, and participation for girls has increased tremendously in recent years to almost 3,000 athletes. Locally, wrestling is also popular, with numerous high schools enjoying tremendous success, led by Graham High School in nearby St. Paris, Ohio, which has won 26 state championships and had dozens of individual wrestlers move on to compete in college.
Plenty of universities in the area sponsor men's wrestling and compete in NCAA Division III, including three NCAC member universities – John Carroll, Ohio Wesleyan, and Wabash – and eight other Ohio universities. Region 5 of NCAA Division III Men's Wrestling currently includes 18 universities across four states (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan).
"Having wrestling back at Wittenberg means that high school wrestlers now have yet another opportunity to compete at the next level. For so many years, these athletes were denied that opportunity around the nation. For Wittenberg, it means another opportunity to attract prospective student-athletes to a great university to earn a degree and prepare themselves for life," Donathan added.
Thirty-three universities sponsored women's wrestling at the NCAA Division III level during the 2024-25 school year, and that number is expected to grow exponentially. Heading into the 2025-26 school year, 112 universities across all NCAA divisions are offering women's wrestling.
For more information about Wittenberg Men's and Women's Wrestling, contact Donathan at donathanw@wittenberg.edu or (937) 327-6434.
