By: Jake Krier, UWEC Sports Information

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - The 2016-17 season officially commences for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team this Saturday, with their first matches of the year taking place at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Head Coach Tim Fader returns for his sophomore campaign with the Blugolds, and in addition to nearly tripling his roster after the program took many successful steps in the right direction last year, he has also brought in a young coaching staff to assist him in leading the roster full of new faces.

"Building Blugold wrestling starts with our young staff," said Fader. "These guys are all very good wrestlers, but more importantly, they are really great teachers."

The staff assembled by Fader is certainly ready to prove they can help effectively coach this team, as their credentials on the mat as wrestlers speak for themselves and are quite impressive.

Elroy Perkin, Cedric Gibson, Nathaniel Behnke, and Jose Quintana combine as multiple state placewinners as prep athletes and conference championships, national qualifiers, and All-American honors while wrestling in college. Once successful wrestlers, they have since transitioned to the roles of contributing to the complete transformation of a program that was on the verge of extinction a mere three years ago.

Perkin and Gibson wrestled for Fader at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, while Behnke recently did so in his senior year with the Blugolds last season.

Elroy Perkin

Of the four assistants, only Perkin returns from a year ago with the same title, as the others were either coaching at other schools or wrestling for this team. The two-time All-American enjoys being a young coach because he says it allows him to train, lift, and condition alongside the athletes, building a strong bond.

"The program is definitely moving forward; last year, we had zero recruited freshmen on the team, and now freshmen make up more than 75-percent of our roster," said Perkin. "I like being someone my guys can talk to about anything without judgment in order to help them with the transition into being collegiate athletes."

Cedric Gibson

Perkin's college teammate, Cedric Gibson, was a two-time All-American as well, and he also credits his age to being able to help the team.

"My young age allows me to be able to train at a high level with the guys and show them what it takes physically and mentally to become a national champion," stated Gibson. "I am really excited to be here as a Blugold, and I believe the future of Blugold wrestling is very bright."

"I am very grateful to be reunited with two of my former athletes in Elroy Perkin and Cedric Gibson," Fader said. "As teammates, I challenged them with high standards, and now they are doing the same to an entire group of newcomers in the Blugold wrestling program."

Nathaniel Behnke

Nathaniel Behnke, who last year became the Blugolds' winningest wrestler in program history, can attest to where the program has come from and where it is headed.

"Last year was the first time in about six years that the team filled a full line-up, and it was the first time that the team placed in the top-15 academically across Division III programs," said Behnke. "We also had four Academic All-Americans, which was the most in school history."

Of Behnke, Fader added, "I think Nathaniel embodies what we want to see in our Blugold wrestlers. In a very short time, I could see that he was respected on campus for much more than being a good wrestler."

Jose Quintana

In addition to working in the wrestling room, Jose Quintana will contribute on that academic side of being a student-athlete. Quintana has a passion and experience in Student Services and works full-time on campus as an Admissions Counselor.

"What excites me most is the level of commitment our university has for our students," said Quintana. "My hope is to guide this young team toward achieving academic and professional success, while at the same time they strive toward reaching their athletic goals."

"We are all looking forward to learning from Jose. He is valuable not only in our wrestling program and campus community but also in the future of both," Fader said.

With the young staff behind Fader's leadership, this team is poised to take more steps toward being a nationally-recognized program and one that can compete with any team every single match.

In addition to these young men, returning to the staff this year are Olympic Gold Medalist John Peterson, former Blugold head coach Russ Peloquin, and long-time assistant Jeremy Peery.