Meet the Coaches!

Kid Wrestling: Won several National Titles in Freestyle wrestling and was a World Schoolboy Freestyle Champ in 1979.

High School: Member of Mankato East High School Hall of Fame 

94.79 win percentage 

91-5 State Finalist

College: MSU Mankato, 2x NCC Champ, 2x Academic All-American, held wins record till dethroned by my own High School teammate John Stoffel. Coached by the icon Rummy Macias. 

Post College: Competed for the USA Greco-Roman Wrestling Team in 1993, 1994, and 1995 Became the first American to win the Petrov Cup in Bulgaria. Competed in Tournaments in France, Germany, Bulgaria, Sweden, and Norway.

Coaching High School: Was Head Coach at both Mankato East High School and Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial High School. 

Won 332 Dual Meets

Won 7 Section Coach of the Year awards

Coached 13 State Champs

Coached 7 State Tournament Teams placing 5 times between 5th and 3rd 

Coaching Storm Team: Also coached the Minnesota Storm National Team that competed in The Fargo National Championships for over 30 years. 

Coached Olympians, NCAA National Champs, Fargo National Champs, Minnesota State Champs (more than can be counted)  

Also coached The Greco-Roman National Championship team 5 times. -Cory, Clint, and Cody were part of some of those.

Degrees: Holds a BS/BT in German (been a German teacher for 30 years.)  Holds 2 minors in Computer Science and Coaching. Holds a Masters degree in Sport Psychology/PE

Mental Training: Ran a mental training program for the Minnesota Storm team for 20+ years.  The Minnesota Storm was on the cutting edge of mental training at the time. Many of the techniques developed by Harnitz are used today in Wrestling mental training. Andre Harnitz also has four copyrights on mental training software called ”YAATTZZEEEE The Mental Edge” for wrestlers. Andre’s experience is in Cueing(Mantras), Visualization Techniques, Relaxation Techniques, Performance Enhancement Techniques, etc.

Folkstyle: 6x MN State HS Qualifier

ONLY 6x MN State HS Tournament Qualifier in the Mankato Area History

2x MN State HS Tournament Finalist

Placed 3rd at State HS Tournament

Former Most Winningest Wrestler in Mankato, MN

HS Record of 182-21 with 128 Pins

Wrestled in Championship Match of EVERY HS tournament ever competed in 7th-12th Grade (state tournament only exception)

Coached Folkstyle on all levels on and off for the last 23 years, helping out at multiple schools and working with multiple State Champions and college wrestlers

Freestyle/Greco: 

Won multiple Freestyle/Greco State Championships

Competed on State Championship Teams

Competed on multiple MN Storm Teams at National Duals

Multiple time Freestyle/Greco Northern Plains Champion Place winner

Competed at World Team Trials (Greco/Freestyle)

Coached Freestyle on all levels for the last 23 years with multiple State Champs and Northern Plains Champs