USA WRESTLING NAMES 2000 OLYMPIC GRECO-ROMAN COACH FINALISTS: DAN CHANDLER, JOE DEMEO, ROB HERMANN, DAN RUSSELL, DERRICK WALDROUPThe Board of Directors of USA Wrestling has approved the finalist candidates for the position of head coach for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team, during its Board of Directors meetings in Dallas, Texas, March 13.
The finalist candidates for the position are Dan Chandler of Minneapolis, Minn., Joe DeMeo of Niskayuna, N.Y., Rob Hermann of Pensacola, Fla., Dan Russell of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Derrick Waldroup of Colorado Springs, Colo. The candidates were selected by the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach Selection Committee, and were approved by the Board of Directors.
The coach who is selected to serve as the 2000 Olympic team head coach will also serve as the head coach for the 1999 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team, which will compete in Athens, Greece, Sept. 23-26.
Chandler was the head coach of the 1995 and 1997 U.S. Greco-Roman World teams. The 1995 team placed in a tie for fourth in the team standings in Prague, Czech Republic. The team featured two medalists, champion Dennis Hall and runner-up Matt Ghaffari. The 1997 U.S. World team placed 12th in the World Championships. Chandler also served as the assistant coach for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, and served on the coaching staff at the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Games. Chandler served as head coach of the 1994 Pan American Championships team, which won the team title. He also coached the 1990 and 1993 World Cup teams.
Chandler works as the state coach for Minnesota USA Wrestling, coaching athletes in the state on all age levels. He also coaches the Minnesota Storm club, which features many of the best Greco-Roman athletes in the nation. He also coached on the college level at St. Thomas Univ. As an athlete, he was a member of three U.S. Olympic teams (1976, 1980, 1984). Chandler competed in six World Championships, placing as high as fifth in the 1979 World Championships. He won medals in three Pan American Games, including golds in 1975 and 1979. Chandler competed for the Univ. of Minnesota.
DeMeo served as head coach of the 1994 and 1998 U.S. Greco-Roman World teams. The 1994 World Team placed in a tie for seventh in the team standings and featured one medalist. The 1998 World Team finished eleventh, with one medalist. He was an assistant coach on the 1991 Pan American Games team which placed second in the team standings. He was head coach of three World Cup teams (1980, 1984, 1987) and has been on the coaching staff of five U.S. Olympic teams.
He is currently the Greco-Roman coach for the New York Athletic Club, and has coached four different club teams to national team titles. He served as head coach at SUNY-Albany for 18 years, and was head coach at Stanford for seven years. DeMeo was also an assistant coach at Michigan State. He competed at Cornell University, and now works in real estate sales.
Hermann served as the head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, which won three silver medals at the Atlanta Olympic Games. He was the head coach of the 1995 Pan American Games team which placed second. He was also head coach of the 1993 U.S. World team, which was 14th at the World Championships. He also served as head coach of the 1990 Pan American Championships team and the 1992 World Cup team, as well as a number of U.S. World Military teams.
Hermann is the head coach of the U.S. Navy team, where he has developed a number of nationally ranked athletes. He also coaches with the Dave Schultz WC. As an athlete, Hermann competed on three U.S. World teams and won a bronze medal at the 1983 Pan American Games. He won four national titles, and competed in five World Cups. He hails from Crystal River, Fla.
Russell is a club coach with Team Excel, and serves as an assistant coach with the U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athletes. He has coached a number of U.S. Senior teams on international tours, as well as youth international exchange teams. In addition, Russell has helped coach USA Wrestling age-group state teams for 10 years.
He worked four years as an assistant wrestling coach at Portland State, and was a volunteer coach with Rampart High School in Colorado Springs, Colo. Russell was a Greco-Roman Team USA member as an athlete, and boasts silver medals at the Pan American Championships and the World Cup. He is one of just two U.S. wrestlers to ever win the respected Padubbny Tournament in Russia. Russell was a four-time NCAA Div. II national champion for Portland State Univ., and also claimed two NCAA Div. I All-American honors. He hails from Gresham, Ore. Russell is on staff at Covenant Presbyterian Church, and speaks to youth groups across the nation.
Waldroup is the head wrestling coach for the U.S. Army team, which is stationed in Fort Carson, Colo. Waldroup became the head coach in 1996, and the Army has won the Armed Forces overall title in wrestling every year that he has been head coach. Waldroup has coached a number of U.S. teams on international tours, and has been a coach with the U.S. Military World team. When he was still competing, Waldroup was an assistant coach for the U.S. Army team.
As an athlete, Waldroup placed seventh in Greco-Roman at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. He competed on the 1986 and 1987 U.S. World teams, and claimed four U.S. National titles. He was a World Military champion in 1988 and won silver medals at two World Military Championships. He claimed a silver medal at the 1987 Pan American Games. Waldroup won two NJCAA junior college national titles for Triton JC, and originally hails from Midlothian, Ill.
Each of the candidates will be interviewed by the Greco-Roman Coach Selection Committee in late March, and the committee will make its recommendations for the positions of head coach and assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic team. These selections must then be approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee, which is expected in April.
USA Wrestling's final selections must then be formally approved by the U.S. Olympic Committee's International Games Preparation Committee.