Central College Athletics

Matt Diehl joined the Central wrestling staff as an assistant in 1991. He served as the program’s head coach from 1996-2004 and is now a volunteer assistant.
       
A 1987 Central graduate, was a two-time NCAA Division III qualifier at 118 pounds. As a senior, he earned All-America honors by finishing seventh nationally while helping the team place eighth. He also was the Iowa Conference champion that season.
  
During his seven seasons as a head coach, the Dutch program had five All-Americans and a pair of individual conference champions.
    
An Osceola native, he received a master’s degree in exercise and sport science at the University of Wis.-La Crosse, where he also spent a year as assistant coach. Prior to returning to Central in 1991, Diehl was head coach at Iowa Falls High School for two years and was a junior high coach in Audubon for one year.
    
Diehl and his wife Cathy are the parents of three sons and a daughter.

Achievements

Central College - head coach

• 41-88-1 (.319) dual meet record, 6-20 (.231) mark in conference matches
• (5) All-Americans
• (6) All-American performances
• (6) NCAA Division III qualifiers
• (2) Conference tournament individual champions (2001 - Dmitry Tarasov; 2002 - Jeremy Hendricks)
• (7) seasons as head coach

Central College - all coaching positions

• 252-266-5 (.487) dual meet record, 61-113 (.351) mark in conference matches
• (26) All-Americans
• (58) NCAA Division III qualifiers
• (1) Conference championships (1992)
• (1) Conference Most Valuable Performer (1992 - Jon McGovern)
• (13) Conference tournament individual champions
• (32) All-conference performers
• (32) seasons on the coaching staff

Athletics career

• Central College – 1983-87
• (2) NCAA Division III Championships appearances (1986, 1987)
  • Central finished 8th as a team in both of those years
• (1) NCAA Division All-American honors (1987)
• (2) Iowa Conference team titles - 1984, 1985

Year-by-year record