photo by: Jennifer Moseley

Tonganoxie coach Brett Delich (right) and assistant Scott Underwood (left) watch a match during the Class 4A state wrestling tournament Saturday afternoon on Feb. 29, 2020.

Two things have remained constant for Brett Delich throughout the years: Kansas and wrestling.

Soon, the latter of the two constants will lead him away from the first, as Delich and his family will be moving to Oklahoma, after Delich accepted the boys wrestling head coach position with Owasso High School.

“It’s bittersweet,” Delich said of leaving. “There’s lots of memories, things. Lots of life that’s happened here, but we’re excited for a new beginning as a family in northeast Oklahoma.”

Delich, who was born in Independence before moving to Lawrence and Shawnee, started wrestling at a young age. He stayed with the sport through graduating from Mill Valley to wrestling in college at Labette County Community College and Baker University. Eventually, Delich turned to coaching and found his way to leading the Tonganoxie boys wrestling team where he’s been for eight years.

“I knew that I wanted to be a wrestling coach,” Delich said. “Then when I got my first job in Effingham — man, that was really good. I coached at Mill Valley before Effingham, but my first head coaching job was in Effingham. I had fun.”

The Tonganoxie job eventually opened, and Delich got it. Since then, Delich said “the sky has been the limit.”

There has been a lot to remember during Delich’s time leading the Tonganoxie wrestling program. The Chieftains won two state championships under his tutelage and had nearly 40 wrestlers finish on the podium at the state meets. Tonganoxie has maintained a high level of success and a strong culture.

But, like any good coach, what sticks with Delich is the impact he made on the wrestlers he’s coached.

“It’s been a lot of fun over the years,” Delich said. “It’s not always about the state medals, winning state championships or state trophies or the regional championships. I want to embrace all the relationships that I’ve made– the kids that have come and gone from our wrestling program to where they’re going. I want them to be successful, and they all will be successful because of our program.”

Many of the top wrestling programs in the state come from the western part, where there’s a longstanding tradition in towns around Wichita or on the plains. But there’s a strong, tight-knit culture around wrestling coaches and programs around the Kansas City metro area, and Delich has been a figure in that with his coaching of dozens of wrestlers in the area who have succeeded at the high school level and gone on for more.

“We still have a lot of culture, a lot of people that really like wrestling,” Delich said. “It’s growing. It’s a great place to be. Lots of people love wrestling here. It’ll continue to be great.”

Now, Delich is off to another strong wrestling culture in Oklahoma, where Delich will be building a program that competes among some of the best in both the state and the nation. Owasso finished seventh in the Oklahoma boys state wrestling tournament and had three underclassmen wrestlers placed in the top four of their respective weight classes.

It’s something Delich is excited about, and the longtime pillar in the local wrestling community is ready to build more in Oklahoma.

“It’s going to be a lot of hard work,” Delich said. “There are some really good kids around. Some of the best kids in the country come from around that area. It’s really fun to know that I’m going to get to be working with these kids, going to get to build a team that has the chance to be a national powerhouse, not just a state powerhouse. That’s why we wanted to pursue it.”