KASSER
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Fairbanks High School will have a new head wrestling coach as it moves the program back to a varsity sport for the 2018-19 school year. For the past several years, the program operated on a club level.
James Kasser, who has been an assistant coach at Olentangy Orange High school for the past 10 years, was hired to the position by Fairbanks officials early Friday afternoon.
Kasser was one of two persons who interviewed for the position.
“I am very pleased with the hire,” said FHS athletic director Larry Morris. “We feel James has a lot to offer to our wrestlers and they will benefit from him being their coach.”
Kasser wrestled on both the high school and collegiate levels respectively at Licking Heights High School and Clarion State University.
According to his resume, Kasser is a former state, national and world champion wrestler with extensive knowledge of the sport and coaching experience.
He was a two-time Ohio High School Athletic Association state champion while at Licking Heights, with a consecutive winning streak of 119 matches. He also won 62 matches in one season, which, according to his resume, is an OHSAA record.
Kasser was a two-time NCAA Division I national qualifier and won 12 U.S. Masters Freestyle National titles.
He was a seven-time Masters Freestyle national champion and a five-time U.S. Masters Greco Roman national champion.
His resume also lists four Masters Freestyle World titles, one silver medal and two bronze medals.
He also competed in three Olympic Trials.
While serving as an assistant at Olentangy Orange, he helped coach multiple state qualifiers, placers and a finalist.
A number of the grapplers he guided also won Ohio Capital Conference and sectional team championships.
“James has a life-long commitment to the sport as both a wrestler and coach,” said Morris. “He wants to come in at the ground level of a small school and see what he can build.
“We have started and stopped our wrestling program (from club to varsity level) three times,” he said. “We want to get this program going and be able to stabilize it.”
“I feel I know what it takes to be a high school head coach,” said Kasser, who is also the head coach and director of the Crush Wrestling Club. “I wanted the opportunity to run my own (high school) program and I feel I can make Fairbanks into a successful program.”
Kasser, who is also a lieutenant with the City of Columbus Division of Fire, said he plans to start a preseason development program.
That will include opportunities for wrestlers to compete in open tournaments, weight training and conditioning sessions, along with a focus on academics.
“I am looking forward to providing kids the knowledge to become successful wrestlers and students,” he said.