After the resignation of former head coach Brendan Buckley last month, the wrestling team had a huge void in its coaching staff. That void has now been filled with the hiring of Jon Sioredas, an accomplished coach and wrestler in his own right.
Sioredas’ most recent position was with Grand Canyon University as the head coach of the university’s wrestling team. A for-profit university, Sioredas led Grand Canyon to five dual meet wins last season (two more than Cal Poly) and had three wrestlers finish as All-Americans at the National Collegiate Open.
Through his 10-year coaching career (Sioredas spent stints at Old Dominion and his alma mater, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), the Virginia native has presided over five top-25 teams and 12 Academic All-Americans. In addition, Sioredas also sports a very impressive past of wrestling glory.
A sociology and anthropology major while at UTC, Sioredas finished 5th in the 2005 NCAA Championships for the 165-pound weight class. For his effort he was named an All-American that year and was recently inducted into UTC’s Athletics Hall of Fame. In high school he was both a state and national champion in his weight class.
Sioredas hopes to bring life back to a Cal Poly wrestling program that has struggled in recent years. While the Mustangs don’t lack talent, their team record has consistently finished below a .500 win percentage. Key wrestlers returning for Cal Poly next season will be sophomore Colton Schilling (34-19 overall record) and junior Colt Shorts (33-33).