Sevond Cole Elevated to Head Job at Buena Vista

Moving quickly, Buena Vista elevated assistant coach Sevond Cole to the head position for next season following Mark Schwab’s announcement of his resignation. See release below.

Cole Promoted to Head Coach of BVU Wrestling Team

Storm Lake, Iowa – Buena Vista Director of Athletics, Jan Travis, has announced that current assistant wrestling coach, Sevond Cole, will be promoted to head coach following the conclusion of this season. Cole will replace Mark Schwab who announced his resignation on Tuesday, effective May 31, 2008.

“I feel Sevond is an excellent choice,” Travis said. “He’s served as an assistant with the program under two great mentors (Mark Schwab and Al Baxter), and I have the confidence that he can take over the program and carry on the strong BVU wrestling tradition.”

Cole returned this season for his second stint with the Beaver wrestling program after having served as an assistant under Baxter from 2001-06. He spent last season as a volunteer wrestling coach, as well as a middle school science instructor, in the Griswold School District.

“Having been part of the wrestling program for more than a decade, you can imagine how excited I am to have the opportunity to continue the strong wrestling tradition that we have here at Buena Vista,” Cole stated. “I feel blessed to have worked with two amazing coaches in my years as an assistant coach – most recently Mark Schwab and Al Baxter before that. I have learned a lot from both coaches and will continue to hold the bar high for BVU wrestling.”

Prior to joining the BVU staff in 2001, Cole was a two-time All-American for Baxter and the Beavers (1999 and 2000) at 174 pounds. He also captured a conference championship in 1999, while also being tabbed a Scholar All-American in 2000.

“I personally believe Sevond will do a great job” Schwab noted. A few reasons that come to mind are that he truly cares about BVU, he was a 2-time All-American here, and a graduate always personalizes the roots that run deep in your efforts to bring out the best in the athletes and a program. He is not looking for something else. This is what he wants – a “dream job” so to speak. I also think that what he learned from Coach Baxter, and hopefully myself, has prepared him to run a top flight program.”

“Needless to say, we are thrilled that Coach Cole has agreed to become our new head coach,” said BVU President Fred Moore. “He was an outstanding student-athlete in every sense of the word and has contributed mightily as an assistant coach. He is the perfect person to lead our program into the future.”