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St. Cloud State names Steve Constanzo as new wrestling coach

Led Dana College to 2006 NAIA National Championship

May 18, 2006

St. Cloud, Minn. - St. Cloud State University Athletics Director Dr. Morris Kurtz has announced that Steve Costanzo has been named as head wrestling coach and assistant strength and conditioning coordinator for the University.

He becomes the 13th coach in the history of the SCSU wrestling program, which dates back to 1949-50. Constanzo replaces Steve Grimit, who will continue to serve as an assistant football coach at the University after leading the Husky wrestling program from 1993 to 2006.

Steve Costanzo"We are very excited that Steve (Costanzo) will be taking over as our new wrestling coach," Kurtz said. "His record at Dana College has been very impressive and given his experience, knowledge and energy, we feel he is a perfect match for St. Cloud State. He is a man of integrity who is committed to having his student-athletes excel academically and athletically."

Costanzo comes to St. Cloud State from Dana College, where he has served as the head wrestling coach since 2000. He led Dana to a NAIA national team championship in 2006 (with a tourney record 193 points) and he has coached 31 NAIA All-Americans since 2000. His squads at Dana won Great Plains Athletic Conference titles in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and they won regional championships in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006.

He was recognized by Wrestling USA magazine as having the best recruiting class among non-NCAA Division I programs in 2005, and Costanzo led Dana to a first place finish at the NWCA National Dual Team championships in 2006. His career record at Dana is 61-30-2, which includes top 10 finishes at the NAIA championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Costanzo received the NWCA and NAIA Coach of the Year awards in 2006, and gained NAIA Regional Coach of the Year accolades in 2005 and 2006. He has coached 74 national qualifiers at Dana, and two of those athletes went on to win NAIA national championships. In 2005, Costanzo served as the NWCA All-Star team coach.

A 1996 graduate of University of Nebraska-Omaha, Constanzo was a three-time All-America wrestler for the Mavericks from 1993-95. He was inducted into the Nebraska Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006, and he still ranks fourth on UNO's all-time wrestling win list with 133 victories as a collegiate wrestler. In 1994 and 1995, Constanzo earned NCC champion honors and he served as a team captain at UNO in 1995. Constanzo was named the Nebraska Collegiate Wrestler of the Year in 1994.

"As a former North Central Conference student-athlete, I am really looking forward to being part of St. Cloud State's program and the nation's elite NCAA Division II wrestling conference. SCSU has tremendous facilities, the educational aspects of the University are outstanding and there is great support for the program from alumni and administration," Costanzo said.

"Minnesota is also one of the premiere wrestling states in the nation, and with St. Cloud State's location, I believe there is great potential for the program's success."

Prior to his move to Dana College, Costanzo served as a high school head wrestling coach and assistant football coach in Estes Park, Colo. In addition to his coaching duties at Dana, Costanzo served as the school's assistant athletic director and athletic recruiting coordinator.