Returning to his alma-mater, former NCAA Division II National Champion Travis Koppenhafer is in his second year as the Grizzlies’ top assistant coach. He had also assisted Grizzly head coach Jason Ramstetter in 2004-05 after winning the 157-pound national title and his third all-America honor in the spring of 2004.
Koppenhafer had been serving as the head coach at Payson High School in Arizona for the previous two seasons and led the Longhorns to a second place finish at last year’s Arizona 3A State Championships. They had finished seventh in 2009 and had three individual state championships and 10 top six placers during Koppenhafer’s two years with the program.
He was also recognized by his peers as the East Region Coach of the Year in 2010.
Prior to his stint at Payson, Koppenhafer had served as an assistant coach for the Arizona State University Sun Devils from 2006-08 and helped the team to a sixth place finish at the NCAA Division I National Championships in 2006. He also continued his wrestling career while helping the Sun Devils and qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in freestyle wrestling while representing Sunkist Kids.
In his time as a Grizzly wrestler, Koppenhafer won 118 combined matches, the fourth most in the program’s illustrious history. As a senior in 2003-04, Koppenhafer went 27-8 and was named as the most outstanding wrestler at both the NWCA National Duals and the Colorado Collegiate Championships and later earned Co-Collegiate Wrestler of the Year honors from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame-Colorado Chapter.
He also went 35-7 as a junior in 2002-03 winning three tournament titles including the RMAC/NCAA West Region and Colorado Collegiate titles before finishing seventh at the NCAA Division II National Championships.
Koppenhafer, who was also the RMAC’s 2002 Champion and Wrestler of the Year also placed seventh as a redshirt freshman in 2000-01 and went 30-12 that season while earning RMAC Freshman of the Year honors.
In addition to his coaching duties, Koppenhafer teaches second and third grade physical education at Boyd Elementary School in Alamosa. He and his wife Ashley, the director of rehabilitation services for Valley Wide Health Systems’ Physical Therapy department, reside in Alamosa and enjoy camping and other outdoor activities.
Koppenhafer’s brother Scott, also a former Grizzly wrestler is a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and is currently deployed in Afghanistan.
