USA Wrestling has hired Craig Sesker of Omaha, Neb. as its Communications Manager. USA Wrestling is the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, and a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the international wrestling federation FILA.

Sesker, who is currently a sportswriter for the Omaha World-Herald, will work on a variety of communications projects with USA Wrestling, including public relations, journalism and promotions. He is expected to start his new position on March 1.

"Craig Sesker will be a tremendous addition to our national staff," said Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling Director of Communications and Special Projects. "He brings outstanding professional skills and experience to the position, as well as an extensive knowledge and passion for the sport of wrestling. We expect that he will make a major impact in our efforts to promote wrestling and serve our membership."

Since 2000, Sesker has worked as a sportswriter for the Omaha World-Herald, a major daily newspaper with a circulation of 240,000. High school and college wrestling were among his assignments with the World-Herald. Sesker expanded the amount of wrestling coverage in the publication, and was respected nationally for the quality of his wrestling reporting. He was named the National Wrestling Media Association Print Journalist of the Year in 2001 and was named Journalist of the Year by W.I.N. Magazine in 2004.

Sesker covered many of the major wrestling events on the national schedule, including the U.S. Olympic Trials, the World Team Trials and the U.S. Nationals. He also worked many national and regional championships on the college levels, including NCAA Div. I and Div. II National Championships. He also reported extensively on high school wrestling in both Nebraska and Iowa.

His other beat assignments included high school and college football, the College World Series and reporting duties with the Omaha Royals professional baseball team. During his time at the newspaper, he also handled duties as a sports copy editor and night editor. Sesker won a national APSE writing award and placed first in the state AP writing contest.

From 1993-1999, Sesker was the sports editor for the Burlington Hawk Eye, a daily newspaper in Iowa with a circulation of 20,000. He managed a staff of four full-time and five part-time employees in the sports department. As editor, Sesker covered sports assignments including the Univ. of Iowa football, Southeastern CC basketball and the Burlington Bees professional baseball team. His publication won a general excellence award as the state's best mid-sized sports daily in 1995. His staff won four national writing awards and 30 other special awards for excellence.

Previously, he was a sportswriter with The Hawk Eye from 1988-1993, where he won a national APSE writing award in 1991.

Sesker graduated from Wartburg College in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in Communications Arts, with a concentration on journalism and public relations. He was named Outstanding Senior in Communications Arts at Wartburg. He began his career as a wrestling journalist in college, when he covered the wrestling team for his school newspaper. Sesker also worked in sports information while attending Wartburg.

He was a wrestler as a youth, starting in elementary school and competing through high school, where he was a two-time district qualifier and a four-year varsity starter. He was from a family of wrestlers, and has had an interest in the sport throughout his life. His brother Kent is a college referee who has worked a number of national college tournaments.

"I love wrestling and have been involved in the sport since starting in the fourth grade," said Sesker. "This is a dream job for me. I look forward to the challenge of working with USA Wrestling and helping to promote and expand the sport in our nation."