Devin Bahr isn’t that far removed from his days as a dominant wrestler for West Salem/Bangor.
But he has accomplished a lot since completing his Catbirds career with a 161-1 record and three WIAA Division 2 championships, and that success appears to be something that will continue professionally.
At 26 years old, he is the head men’s wrestling coach at Division III Loras (Iowa) and making the most of his experience in a sport he has loved as long as he can remember.
“It like it a lot, and it was something that made sense,” Bahr said of coaching after returning to the Coulee Region for a couple of instructional sessions in Holmen and West Salem last week. “I’m outgoing and not too old to relate to the wrestlers I coach.
“I also understand the commitment level it takes (to succeed).”
He is old enough to have plenty of experience in the sport from which to draw and young enough to get on the mat to both teach and push his wrestlers. And if you need to be told, his competitive side is still easily triggered when necessary in those situations.
Bahr did compete in other sports before high school but decided to concentrate on wrestling for those four seasons. An injury is responsible for his one defeat and likely the only reason he isn’t a four-time WIAA champ.
He spent the past week in Fargo, N.D., for the national championships after attending a training camp in River Falls over the weekend. He will now turn his focus to the Duhawks, whom he joined last season as an assistant coach to former Iowa Hawkeye Jeren Glosser.
In a restructure of leadership after last season, Glosser is now the school’s director of wrestling and head coach for its women’s team. That shift allowed Bahr to change his title with the men, although he said they work together closely for the program as a whole.
“I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” said Bahr, who has a bachelor’s degree in rehab psychology, a master’s in sport performance and leadership and knew Glosser from his Big Ten wrestling days at Wisconsin. “But it could not be a better fit.
“I wrestled in college and in high school. It’s fun work.”
Bahr wrestled for the Badgers from 2017-2021 and compiled a 44-22 record while competing at 157 pounds.
A knee injury slowed him down in Madison, but that and COVID-19 allowance gave him two more seasons of eligibility, which he used at Division II Northern State (S.D.). He went 30-14 for the Wolves and was an All-American with a fifth-place national finish at 157 in his final season.
Some graduate coaching experience at both Wisconsin and Northern State allowed Bahr to hit the ground running for the start of his Loras career.
Bahr is thrilled with some of the recruiting success he’s had for next season. Part of that class includes Aquinas grad Trevor Paulson, Holmen graduate Jonathon Lamprich, Holmen grad Andrew Weiss as a transfer from Minnesota State-Mankato and Sparta graduate Jon Bailey — ending a wrestling hiatus — among others.
Part of Bahr’s staff includes former Wisconsin teammate Tyler Dow, a roommate of Bahr’s when they were both in Madison.
Pecatonica/Argyle’s Aidan Gruenefelder (59-0, 120 pounds) and Darlington/Black Hawk’s Owen Seffrood (47-0, 150) are undefeated state champs in Wisconsin who have committed to Bahr.
