Former Ankeny wrestling standout Matt Wonderlin has been named the Class 3A South Central District Coach of the Year. He is now eligible to win the state’s Coach of the Year award, which will be presented next month at the state tournament in Des Moines.
Wonderlin is in his eighth season as the head coach at Bondurant-Farrar.
“I was shocked that I got nominated–let alone win,” said Wonderlin. “My four-month-old actually woke me up and I had to feed her, so I just checked my phone and saw the email and was ecstatic that my guys’ hard work is showing around the area.”
Wonderlin was a two-time state qualifier at Ankeny in 2003-04. He placed seventh in Class 3A at 189 pounds as a senior and finished his high school career with a 68-18 record.
Wonderlin has guided Bondurant-Farrar to a 24-2 mark this season. The Bluejays placed second in the Dave Ewing Duals on Saturday at Ankeny, where they dropped a 43-21 decision to the eighth-ranked Hawks in the deciding match.
“You can coach until you’re blue in the face but when guys buy in it makes us coaches look good,” Wonderlin said.