MOUNT PLEASANT - Central Michigan head wrestling coach Tom Borrelli has named Jason Mester as the program's new assistant coach.

"I'm excited to welcome Jason back to our university and our wrestling program," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "He had an outstanding career here as a student-athlete, and from that experience he has grown into a successful and knowledgable wrestling coach. Every individual in our program will benefit from the expertise that Jason will bring to the practice room."

Mester returns to his alma mater after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri. He helped lead the Tigers to their first Big 12 Tournament championship in 2012 after a runner-up finish in 2011. Missouri boasted a school-record four individual Big 12 champions in 2012 and qualified an individual for the NCAA Championships in all 10 weight classes.

Prior to Missouri, Mester spent five seasons as the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Nebraska. He worked directly with 14 All-Americans and three NCAA Championships finalists—including two national champions—and was part of a staff that led Nebraska to a pair of fourth-place team finishes at the NCAA Championships.

One of the top wrestlers in CMU history, Mester is tied for 11th in school history with 104 career victories from 2001-04. He won three Mid-American Conference championships (2001, 2003, 2004) at 141 pounds and was an All-American in both 2003 and 2004. A three-time recipient of the Chick Sherwood Award as CMU's Most Valuable Wrestler, Mester was named MAC Wrestler of the Year as a senior.

Mester's career winning percentage of .806 (104-25 overall) still ranks fourth overall in program history, and he owns two of the top eight single-season winning percentages in CMU history: .897 (26-3 overall, No. 6 all-time) in 2002-03 and .891 (33-4 overall, No. 8 all-time) in 2003-04.

Mester earned a sport studies degree from CMU in 2004. He spent his first year following graduation as an assistant coach at CMU, helping lead the Chippewas to MAC regular season and tournament titles and a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2005.