How We Built the Pipeline

The championship culture of Evansville Wrestling wasn't built overnight. It is the result of over sixty years of community dedication, grit, and a few key leaders who refused to let the sport die. The foundation was officially poured during the 1964–1965 school year, when wrestling arrived as an official varsity sport at Evansville High School under the leadership of its very first head coach, Robert Smith. Recognizing the need to develop athletes early, the crucial middle school link was forged during the 1978–1979 school year under the guidance of beloved teacher and inaugural middle school coach Harold "Butch" Beedle, alongside community leaders who recognized the importance of building a complete pipeline.

Long before the modern multi-division format, Evansville proved it could stand toe-to-toe with the entire state. The mid-1970s marked a historic era of early success, highlighted by an extraordinary five-year stretch where the Blue Devils sent 7 state qualifiers to the single-division WIAA State Tournament. That dominant run produced 2 Individual State Champions—Mitch Hull at 167 lbs in 1975 and Brian Benash at 155 lbs in 1976—with notable standouts like Dave Goodspeed (1976) and Marty Hull (1978) among the state qualifiers from that memorable era, cementing Evansville as an early Wisconsin wrestling powerhouse.

However, the program's future was nearly cut short. Throughout most of the 1980s, participation dwindled to just three or four wrestlers, prompting school administration to plan the cancellation of the entire wrestling program after the 1988–1989 season. Seeing his community on the verge of losing the sport, local advocate William "Mike" Michael Cufaude stepped up. Mike was extraordinarily generous with his time and talent for Evansville’s athletes. In the mid-1980s, he had connected with a small group of boys passionate about wrestling, spending his weekends traveling with them to competitions as their coach—a grassroots commitment that planted the seeds for our current youth program. Beyond assisting at the high school level and driving the start of the middle school program, Mike refused to let the high school team vanish. Using his strong local connections, he pleaded with Superintendent Tom Benzinger to buy the program just a little more time.

For the 1989–1990 season, a new head coach Lee Jabs (referred to locally as "Jabs") was brought in, and Mike volunteered as his assistant. The community rallied, filling a complete varsity roster alongside a JV squad. The newly salvaged team went 50-50 that year, produced individual conference champions, and by the time that freshman class became seniors, they were undefeated heading into their final dual meet.

Building upon that momentum, Robert Kostroun and Andrew Lehman became instrumental leaders in driving the high school program forward from 1998 through 2021. Across more than two decades of dedicated leadership and coaching, Kostroun and Lehman transformed Evansville High School Wrestling into a model of relentless consistency. Their guidance laid the foundation for decades of success—developing multiple conference championship teams and producing 36 state qualifiers during this stretch, including Tyler Grant, Jake Carpenter, Dustin Bjugstad, Branden Lange, Austin Scofield, Chase Katzenmeyer, Lucius Rinehart, and Jordan Meyer. A record-setting 6 state qualifiers sent in 2015. Their leadership elevated 19 wrestlers to the state podium, including 4 state finalists, and was punctuated by 4-time state qualifier and 3-time placer Nolan Kicmol, who capped off his senior season as the 2018 WIAA Division 2 Individual State Champion at 152 lbs.

That standard of individual excellence reached historic, elite heights in the years that followed, led by Danny Heiser, who etched his name into Wisconsin wrestling history as Evansville's first 4-Time WIAA Individual State Champion. In an unprecedented high school career, Danny dominated four straight state tournaments—winning titles at 120 lbs (2022), 132 lbs (2023), 150 lbs (2024), and 157 lbs (2025)—setting the ultimate benchmark for Blue Devil wrestling.

Having permanently stabilized and elevated the high school program, the focus expanded to sustaining it across all age levels. Building on the early foundations laid in the '80s, the youth movement took another massive leap around 2001 when Greg Ardison and Jon Bremmer launched structured youth practices, with key leaders like Ed Larson and Greg Potter playing instrumental roles in driving the creation and early success of the youth program. On February 2, 2003, the youth organization was officially chartered under its original bylaws as the Evansville Demons Wrestling Club (EDWC).

That youth foundation was further expanded over more than two decades of relentless dedication by leaders like Jahonn Kleisch. Jahonn stepped onto the mats around 2004 when his son Jordan was in first grade. With no prior coaching experience, he became a true student of the sport, mastering the craft of coaching from the ground up. Over the years, Jahonn mentored kids who had never wrestled before into state champions across all three styles—Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco-Roman—ultimately coaching all but one starter on Evansville’s historic, first-ever High School Team State Championship team. By 2009, those grassroots practices and the EDWC evolved into the structured format of the Evansville Wrestling Club we know today.

The next evolution of the pipeline arrived in 2025, when Evansville High School officially developed its first-ever Girls Wrestling program. Under the leadership of inaugural head coach Scott Rosonske, seven pioneering female athletes stepped onto the mats to start the historic season. The team immediately proved they belonged on the big stage, culminating in a spectacular postseason run where Parker Stuart made history as the very first Evansville female wrestler to advance to Sectionals. From single-division state champions in the '70s and near-extinction in the '80s, to middle school growth, decades of steady leadership, 4-time individual state champions, the expansion of the girls' program, and ultimate high school team state titles, this continuous chain of community heroes is exactly what built the Blue Devils into the powerhouse they are today.