Dylan Peters to Simpson
Dylan Peters has been named the next head wrestling coach at Simpson College. Peters has spent the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant at Central Michigan University. This follows a career at Northern Iowa where he was a four time NCAA qualifier and two time All-American. The 26 year old Peters is an Iowa native who won three state championships for Denver-Tripoli High school. He becomes the 18th head coach in Simpson history after the previous head coach Nate Hansen departed to become the top assistant at Dubuque.
Dylan Peters hired as wrestling coach
INDIANOLA, Iowa — Dylan Peters has been hired to lead the Simpson wrestling program as its next head coach, Director of Athletics Bob Nutgrass announced. Peters arrives after serving as an assistant coach at Central Michigan University over the last two seasons.
“The Simpson Athletic Department is excited to have Dylan Peters as our new head wrestling coach,” Nutgrass said. “Dylan was outstanding in the interview process and the search committee was very impressed with his philosophy and vision for our wrestling program. With his excitement, work ethic and love of the sport, we are certain he will build our wrestling tradition.”
Peters becomes the 18th coach in program history and takes over for Nate Hansen, who resigned after seven seasons with the Storm. Hansen guided Simpson to seven wins in 2014-15, the most since the 2005-06 campaign and finished with an overall record of 23-84.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to be a part of the Simpson program,” Peters said. “I am looking forward to meeting the team and getting to work right away. Simpson has the facilities and location to be one of the best teams in the conference. I have had the honor of working and training under two great coaches, Doug Schwab and Tom Borrelli, and look forward to passing along the knowledge and skills that I have gained from them.”
During his stint with Central Michigan, Peters has helped coach 10 NCAA qualifiers, while one received All-American recognition in 2019. Peters worked under head coach Tom Borrelli, who owns a 329-151-7 career mark in 28 seasons at the helm for the Chippewas.
Peters was recruited by Iowa and Minnesota to join their wrestling programs during high school, but ultimately chose to attend the University of Northern Iowa. Going to Cedar Falls, Iowa paid off for Peters as he earned two All-American honors and was a four-time NCAA qualifier. Peters climbed the record books with the Panthers and graduated in fourth place with 18 pins in a season and ended fifth all-time with 38 career pins. His 38 pins were the third most among active Division I wrestlers when he graduated in 2017.
He saw success early in his career with the Panthers and racked up a 20-5 record during his freshman season. The next season in 2013-14, Peters had a career-high 34 victories and had a perfect 13-0 dual record, while sweeping the Mid-American Conference duals at 7-0 as a redshirt freshman. Peters finished the year with 18 pins to garner his first All-American honor with a sixth-place nod and was the team’s first freshman to receive the distinction since 1996. He also won a MAC title at 125-pounds. During the season, he improved on his career’s fastest pin of 19 seconds.
As a sophomore, he tallied his second trip to the NCAA tournament after receiving second-place at the MAC Championships. The following year, Peters garnered his second All-American nod to become the 33rd Panther to do so. He piled up six top-20 victories, including his season’s fastest fall against No. 5 Ryan Millhof of Oklahoma in 1:03 at the NCAA Championships. As a senior, he took second at the MAC Championships to cement his place at the NCAA tournament for a fourth time.
Aside from the accolades on the mat, Peters shined in the classroom as well, earning National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic recognition three times and Academic All-MAC honors on two different occasions.
As a prep wrestler at Denver-Tripoli High School in Denver, Iowa, Peters recorded an impressive career record of 195-1 and won three state titles, while making the state tournament four times.
Peters graduated in 2017 from Northern Iowa with a degree in human movement and exercise science.
Peters and his fiancé, Haley, reside in Des Moines and plan to marry on Aug. 17, 2019.
The Peters File
Hometown: Denver, Iowa
High School: Denver-Tripoli
Education: B.S., Northern Iowa, 2017
Playing Experience: Northern Iowa, 2012-17
Coaching Career
2019: Simpson College, head coach
2017: Central Michigan University, assistant coach