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Olentangy Orange girls wrestling coach Vanessa Oswalt, assistant Brian Nicola swap roles
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- Olentangy Orange girls wrestling coach Vanessa Oswalt, assistant Brian Nicola swap roles
Coaches Vanessa Oswalt and Brian Nicola have switched roles with the Olentangy Orange girls wrestling program.
Oswalt has stepped back into an assistant's role with Nicola succeeding her as head coach. The change is because of Oswalt's commitments as a master sergeant with the Ohio Air National Guard.
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Oswalt and Nicola were assistants at Orange for three years under coach Scott Tressler before the girls program became sanctioned by the school district prior to last season, enabling it to separate from the boys program. The coaches have helped the Pioneers finish in the top three in all four years of the girls wrestling individual state tournament and capture the title in both state dual tournaments .
"Nothing is going to change, just (our) titles," said Oswalt, who lives in Fredericktown. "The girls aren't going to notice a difference. Brian and I have been on the same page. I wanted to do co-head coach last year and he said I should try to take it. Every step of the way, we bounce ideas off of each other. He's the primary coach, the administrator, and I lead the in-person practices, techniques.
"I have to have my own piece of mind of being able to still focus on my military career that pays my bills and will give me my retirement."
Olentangy Orange girls wrestling coach Vanessa Oswalt watches a match during last year's OHSAA state tournament.
Oswalt was named The Dispatch's All-Metro Girls Wrestling Coach of the Year last season, which also was the first year for girls wrestling as an OHSAA sport .
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Orange also has added to its staff. Former Hilliard Davidson boys coach Dominic DiSabato, former Orange wrestler Anna Grabau and Cierra Foster will serve as assistants.
A 2020 graduate of Orange, Grabau was a captain on the school's first girls team in the 2019-20 season and finished third at state at 143 pounds.
Foster was a three-time NAIA All-American at Oklahoma City University. She is competing at the USA Wrestling national level at 62 kilograms (approximately 137 pounds).
"We have a stronger coaching staff," Oswalt said. "We're just looking to grow our program to the best that we can. That means from the youth all the way to high school. With me stepping down to more of the assistant, I'm going to work on being able to help out with the middle school and the youth."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Olentangy Orange girls wrestling coach, assistant swap roles
