University of Michigan head wrestling coach Joe McFarland announced today (Friday, June 17) the hiring of Sean Bormet and Donny Pritzlaff as assistant coaches for the Wolverine program.

"I consider Sean and Donny two of the best coaches in the country," said McFarland, "and to be able to get both of them in here as part of our coaching staff is just incredible. There's no question that they are going to help elevate this program to new and great heights. Our goal is to win Big Ten and NCAA championships, and I think with these guys on board, we have every intention of doing that.

"Both of them are champions. They are great students of the sport. They have great rapport with their athletes, they're well respected in the wrestling community, and they're close friends and work well together. I know they are excited about this opportunity, and I'm excited to get them here and get going."

"It is an honor and I am excited to be heading back to the University of Michigan," said Bormet. "Over the last decade, I have gained tremendous insight and experience at every level of amateur wrestling as a coach both nationally and internationally, and I look forward to bringing these contributions to the Michigan wrestling program. Given our extraordinary coaching staff and a new state-of-the-art U-M wrestling center, I am eager to get started and begin mentoring young men to reach their full potential on and off the mat."

"I am very excited to be at the University of Michigan," said Pritzlaff. "I have always had great respect for the Michigan program and interest in working with the Wolverines. The athletic department is committed to winning NCAA championships in wrestling, and I will use my coaching knowledge and experience to help reach that goal. Joe and Sean are both great Michigan Men, and I am positive this staff will lead our student-athletes to excellence in the classroom and on the mat."

As the owner and founder of the Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville, Ill., Bormet molded the training center into the nation's premiere wrestling club, producing numerous champions and All-Americans at all age levels since its opening in 2001.

Considered among the nation's top freestyle coaches, Bormet is a three-time winner of the Terry McCann Award as the USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year (2006, '08, '10) and serves on USA Wrestling's Executive Coaches Council. He was a member of the coaching staff for three U.S. World Championship Teams (2006, '09, '10) as well as the 2008 Olympic Team and 2010 World Cup Team. Among his most decorated post-collegiate wrestlers are 2008 Olympian Andy Hrovat (84 kg), 2009 World silver medalist Jake Herbert (84kg) and 2006 World bronze medalist Donny Pritzlaff (74kg).

As a Wolverine student-athlete (1991-94), Bormet was a two-time NCAA All-American at 158 pounds, placing second as a senior (1994) and third as a junior (1993). He captured back-to-back Big Ten 158-pound titles (1993, '94) and won the prestigious Midlands at 158 pounds in 1993. Bormet posted a 125-21 career record, ranking 13th among Michigan's all-time winningest wrestlers, and accumulated 44 career falls to list fourth on the program's all-time pins list.

Pritzlaff comes to Michigan after serving five seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin (2007-11) -- the last two as associate head coach -- where he helped revitalize the Badgers' program over his tenure. Wisconsin placed among the top 10 teams at the NCAA Championships in each of the last three seasons, including a fourth-place finish in 2010.

Pritzlaff was instrumental in developing the Badger middleweight wrestlers as a sound technician and competitive training partner. Among the notable performers under his tutelage were NCAA champion and three-time All-American Andrew Howe, NCAA finalist Craig Henning and All-Americans Tyler Turner, Zach Tanelli and Kyle Ruschell. As Wisconsin's recruiting coordinator, Pritzlaff helped land three top-20 recruiting classes according to InterMat, including the nation's No. 2 class in 2008 and the No. 4 class in 2011.

During his collegiate career at Wisconsin (1998-2001), Pritzlaff was a two-time NCAA 165-pound champion (2000, '01) and four-time NCAA All-American, placing fifth as a junior at 165 pounds (1999) and sixth as a freshman at 150 pounds (1998). Pritzlaff claimed three straight Big Ten titles at 165 pounds (1999-2001) and posted a 135-15 career record to list fourth among Wisconsin's all-time wins leaders. He was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.