Joe Colon - Wrestling Coach

Joe Colon

Title:
Volunteer Assistant Coach
Email:
colon@csufresno.edu

Joe Colon enters his fourth season on the Bulldog wrestling coaching staff in 2020-21.

Fresno State will have an experienced group coming back with as many as seven NCAA Championship qualifiers returning this season.

Included in that group is two-time NCAA qualifier AJ Nevills at heavyweight. After redshirting the 2019-20 season, Nevills returns to the lineup after racking up 52 wins and two runner-up finishes at the Big 12 Tournament in his first two seasons as a Bulldog.

In addition to Nevills, four first-time NCAA qualifiers from the 2020 NCAA Championships, which were canceled due to the COVID-19, return for the Bulldogs in Lawrence Saenz (133 lbs.), DJ Lloren (141 lbs.), Greg Gaxiola (149 lbs.) and Jacob Wright (157 lbs.).

Redshirt juniors Gary Joint (133 lbs.) & Jackson Hemauer (184 lbs.) each qualified for the 2019 NCAA Championships as redshirt freshman.

Fresno State finished ninth at the 2020 Big 12 Championships in Tulsa scoring 57 points with five 'Dogs earning top-six finishes. In dual action, the Bulldogs went 9-11 with a 4-4 mark in Big 12 action & 5-3 at home at the Save Mart Center.

The Bulldogs ranked in the top 10 in the nation in attendance for the third straight season in 2019-20 averaging 2,596 fans per dual.

At the 2019 NCAA Championships, Josh Hokit became the first All-American wrestler from Fresno State since 2003 finishing fifth at 197 lbs. and completed a 27-8 overall record. As a senior in 2019-20, Hokit tallied a 24-4 record at heavyweight, placed third at the Big 12 Championship and earned NWCA Second Team All-American honors.

The Bulldogs placed fifth at the 2019 Big 12 Championships scoring 59.5 points as six 'Dogs placed in the top six in their respective weight classes. Nevills led the way with a runner-up finish at heavyweight followed by Hokit taking fourth at 197 lbs. A trio of 'Dogs claimed fifth in Hemauer, Joint and Wright and Khrisitan Olivas (149 lbs.) rounded out the 'Dogs top finishers with a sixth place finish.

Helping get the Bulldog wrestling program back underway in 2017-18, Colon helped the 'Dogs to four dual meet victories as the 'Dogs defeated San Francisco State, Cal Poly, Bucknell and Northern Colorado.

Olivas and Nevills became the first two Bulldog wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Championships competing in Cleveland as Olivas went 1-2 and Nevills fell in two matches. Nevills finished second and Hokit placed fifth at the Big 12 Championships while the ‘Dogs finished 11th as a team.

In addition, Colon also competes for the Valley Regional Training Center competing in the 2018 & 2019 Final X competitions at 61 kg./134.5 lbs. He was an injury-replacement at the 2018 World Championships in October earning a bronze medal with a 13-2 win in the bronze medal match over Mohammadbagher Yakhkeshi of Iran.

A 2014 graduate of Northern Iowa, Colon arrives in Fresno State after spending a year at NAIA Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Getting the opportunity to coach his younger brother, Jacob, in his senior season at Grand View, Colon helped Jacob win his second consecutive national championship at 133 pounds. Grand View won its sixth-straight NAIA title and set a new scoring record of 234.5 points as the Vikings became the first NAIA wrestling program to win six-consecutive national titles and only the fourth at any level (NAIA, NJCAA, NCAA) to accomplish the feat. The Vikings had five national championships as they dominated the field as the second place team, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), finished with 74.5 points.

Familiar with coach Steiner along with assistant coach Jason Chamberlain, Colon is excited to join the new coaching staff and work with the Bulldog student-athletes, "It is going to fun and exciting and it will be a great learning experience for me. I'm going to try to learn as much as I can and help out the team as much as I can. I want to strive to be the best and help all these student-athletes reach their goals," said Colon.

On the mat, Colon brings outstanding credentials to the Bulldog wrestling room. The Clear Lake, Iowa native was a two-time state champion in high school at Clear Lake High School capturing titles as a sophomore in 2007 and a senior in 2009 while finishing third as a junior in 2008.

After high school, Colon moved on to Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge where he won the 2010 NJCAA national championship at 125 pounds and was named the NJCAA Tournament Outstanding Wrestler as the Tritons won the national championship.

After his time in the junior college ranks, Colon made his way to Cedar Falls where he compiled a 62-6 overall mark in his two seasons competing for the Panthers and head coach Doug Schwab. He went 27-4 as a redshirt sophomore in 2011-12 advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships falling one match shy of becoming an All-American.

After sitting out the 2012-13 season, Colon came back as a senior in 2013-14 and went 35-2 overall as he finished his career first in Panther program history in career winning percentage (.911) and his senior season winning percentage of .946 ranked third-best for a single-season in UNI history. He finished his career a perfect 24-0 in duals and gave up bonus in only one of his 68 career matches.

Moving on to compete post collegiately with the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, Colon won the Bill Farrell International championship, finished fourth at the World Team Trials and fifth at the U.S. Open in 2014. The following year, Colon punched his ticket on to Team USA finishing second at the U.S. World Team Trials, third at the Cerro Pelado International meet and fourth at the U.S. Open.

Continuing to strive to reach that elite international level again, Colon plans to continue to train during his time with the Bulldogs and hopes to have a positive influence on the current Fresno State student-athletes and show the proper ways to train at an elite level.