A new face has joined Spartan Wrestling: assistant coach Drew Hennessey. Hennessey finished his last year as a football player for the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the spring of 2024. He has a history in Wisconsin as a high school wrestler.
Hennessey attended Highland High School in southwest Wisconsin where he was a player on the football, baseball and wrestling team(s). As a wrestler, he was very successful, wrestling his way to the state tournament three times. As a freshman, he took 2nd place; as a sophomore, he took 5th place; he was injured during his junior year; and was state champion his senior year, resulting in ending his high school career on a high note.
High school wrestling taught Hennessey a lot of what it took to be successful at the next level.
“It taught me a lot of life skills. Nothing is ever going to be easy in wrestling. It helped me a lot. It translated to football,” Hennessey said.
After high school, he attended UMD where he played football. He was seen as a big contributor to the team during his time as an upperclassman and a leader, being voted captain of the team this past fall.
Hennessey has missed the sport of wrestling since high school and wanted to give back to the sport that continues to have a spot in his heart.
“I missed wrestling, not so much the practice part. I just wanted to give back to the sport and help guys out to be the best they can be,” Hennessey Said.
Hennessey’s addition to the wrestling coaching staff brings his experience and knowledge of the sport; his results speak for themselves. But what is not shown by his results is his ability to coach and teach the sport.
“I bring a lot of knowledge. I’ve been wrestling since kindergarten, I know a lot of moves especially for the bigger guys. I came from a lot of really good programs growing up, I can show them new moves and teach the grind,” Hennessey said.
Senior captain Garet Rivord is one of the wrestlers that Hennessey works with everyday.
“It’s honestly great because he’s a bigger guy, he knows what he’s talking about, he’s experienced. He just knows what he’s doing, he’s not going to put you in a position that’ll make you lose, he’s going to put you in a position to win,” Rivord said.
Hennessey’s coaching style allows him to be relatable and fun to be around, all without compromising the work that the wrestlers have to put in to be successful. Hennessey has a grind and ‘get after it’ mindset that he brings to practice, keeping the intensity up.
The new face in the wrestling room is hard at work with his wrestlers to compete at a higher level. The wrestling team next takes the mat in Eau Claire for the Holidays Dual Tournament on Dec. 28.
