Kris Nelson [Archive] - Bisonville Forums

AmberValley

09-20-2009, 12:59 PM

Published July 16 2009
MSUM's Keenan Spiess resigns as head wrestling coach
Minnesota State Moorhead head wrestling coach Keenan Spiess has resigned after six seasons.
By: Eric Peterson, INFORUM

Minnesota State Moorhead head wrestling coach Keenan Spiess has resigned after six seasons.

“I just didn’t want to coach the rest of my life,” Spiess said. “I wanted to do more than one thing. I didn’t want to do the same thing for the rest of my life.”

MSUM athletic director Doug Peters said he wants to fill the position as soon as possible.

“We didn’t want him to go, but I wanted him to be happy at the same time,” MSUM athletic director Doug Peters said. “When he told me, he caught me off guard.”

Peters added the Spiess resignation had nothing to do with MSUM being reprimanded and fined $1,000 by the NCAA in March.

That fine stemmed from the conduct of an MSUM wrestler during the national championships in Houston. The wrestler was at the tournament as a spectator and not with the school’s travel party.

“That’s the little bit of bad to do with coaching,” Spiess said.

Spiess said impending budget cuts at the school also didn’t factor in his decision.

The Dragons averaged more than 10 dual wins per season under Spiess.

Spiess coached a national champion (Nate Baker at 165 pounds in 2006). MSUM had 68-43 overall dual record in Spiess’ six seasons, including two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles.

“I worked my tail off and I enjoyed everything I got from it,” Spiess said.

Spiess said he plans to work in house restoration and building and also at a youth development center.

“I’ve been thinking about it for about a year,” Spiess said.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/246810/

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Published July 22 2009
Nelson expected to be named Dragons wrestling coach
North Dakota State assistant coach Kris Nelson is expected to be named head wrestling coach at Minnesota State Moorhead later this week.
By: Forum staff reports, INFORUM

North Dakota State assistant coach Kris Nelson is expected to be named head wrestling coach at Minnesota State Moorhead later this week.

Nelson said he has been offered the job and has accepted the position, but has yet to sign a contract.

Nelson said he didn’t want to comment further until his hiring was officially announced.

MSUM athletic director Doug Peters had no comment Tuesday when asked if Nelson had been offered the job.

Nelson was an assistant at NDSU for nine seasons. He was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American for the Bison from 1995-2000. Nelson won a national title at 133 pounds in 2000 and was named the most outstanding wrestler in Division II.

From Lisbon, N.D., Nelson was a two-time Class B high school state champion, compiling a 128-19 career record.

Nelson is slated to take over for Keenan Spiess, who recently resigned after six seasons as head coach.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/247449/

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Published July 24 2009
MSUM hires Nelson as head wrestling coach
Kris Nelson has been named head wrestling coach at Minnesota State Moorhead, athletic director Doug Peters announced Thursday.
By: Eric Peterson, INFORUM

Kris Nelson has been named head wrestling coach at Minnesota State Moorhead, athletic director Doug Peters announced Thursday.

Nelson becomes the ninth wrestling coach in the program’s 50-year history. He takes over for Keenan Spiess, who recently resigned after six seasons to pursue other interests.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity in the first place, to be a head coach and to lead the program,” Nelson said. “I’m going to do my best to continue to move it in the right direction. I think they have been doing a good job. I know it’s going to take a lot of work.”

Nelson has been an assistant coach at North Dakota State the past nine seasons under coaching legend Bucky Maughan, an MSUM grad who was inducted into the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1997.

Maughan is also in the Dragon Hall of Fame.

From Lisbon, N.D., Nelson also wrestled for Maughan at NDSU from 1995-2000, while the program was in Division II. NDSU has since moved to Division I.

“He wrestled and he coached for a national hall of fame coach and he saw a high level of success at the Division II level and he’s seen a lot of things at the Division I level,” Peters said. “Obviously, he has recruited in the region so he has a good idea of the talent that’s available and he already has a lot of connections.”

Nelson was a three-time Division II All-American for the Bison, winning a national championship at 133 pounds in 2000. That season he was named most outstanding wrestler in Division II.

“It’s kind of nice getting back to my roots,” Nelson said. “I was a Division II wrestler myself. I’m kind of looking forward to that. … I have a lot of respect for Division II. I’m just excited to make that return.”

Nelson is taking over a program that has won nine of the last 14 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships.

Nelson said he has yet to address the entire MSUM team and he has yet to name his assistants.

“When this opportunity presented itself to me I just felt like it was the next step that I need to take in my career,” Nelson said. “I was unable to turn that down.”

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/247667/