Coach of the Year - Regan Erickson - Santa Fe Trail.

The 2005 offseason never allowed Regan Erickson to get too comfortable.

Coming off a sixth-place finish at the Class 4A state tournament, Erickson had high hopes for the Santa Fe Trail High wrestling program as it looked ahead to the 2005-06 campaign. Then came a rash of injuries, a wrestler whose family moved out of town, and the reality of filling in his suddenly gutted roster with nine grapplers who had no varsity experience.

“I didn’t know how it would turn out,” Erickson said.

Quite well, it seems. Utilizing big points from the experienced wrestlers who did return and a strong complementary effort by the youngsters, the Chargers finished 17-4 in dual meets, secured their eighth Kaw Valley League Title in Erickson’s nine years at the helm, and improved to fourth at this year’s state gathering in Salina.

That body of work earned Erickson recognition as the Journal-World’s All-Area Wrestling Coach of the Year.

“I knew it was going to be different, but we really wrestled well all year long, and I think we progressed too,” Erickson said. “I think we really wrestled to our capability most all of the year.

“It’s kind of the way we approached everything – we wrestle as best we can, and where we fall is where we fall.”

Erickson’s personal highlights included coming out ahead of Lansing, another perennial Class 4A power, in the KVL tournament, and watching senior Lorenzo Mundy (second), junior Josh Cauthon (fifth) and sophomore Jake Kober (second) all place at state.

“I would say it’s probably as hard a working team as I’ve ever had,” Erickson said. “They seemed to work pretty well.

“It was very satisfying this year.”