Wittenberg Men's Wrestling Head Coach Wendel Donathan

Bio

After Wittenberg reinstated its men's wrestling program, which was discontinued after the 1989-90 school year, in 2025 with plans to begin competition in the 2026-27 school year, Wendel Donathan, Wittenberg class of 1989 and the most decorated wrestler in Wittenberg history, was named head coach.

A four-year letterwinner at Wittenberg, Donathan posted a career record of 106-28-4, making him the only Wittenberg wrestler to ever win 100 career matches. He was Wittenberg's team MVP in each of his four years, team captain for three years, and he placed first, second, and third at the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tournament in his senior, junior, and sophomore years, respectively. He capped his career with OAC Most Outstanding Wrestler honors as a senior, before becoming the first and only Tiger wrestler to earn All-America honors with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships at 134 pounds. He was inducted into Wittenberg’s Athletics Hall of Honor in 2008.

As a student at Wittenberg, Donathan was also involved in the intramural program as a participant and as director/coordinator. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and a grade 7-12 education certificate from Wittenberg, and he went on to achieve a comprehensive social studies certificate from the University of Cincinnati in 1991 and a master’s degree in education at Marygrove College in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. He and his wife, Cindy, have three children in Lauren, Tanner, and Benjamin.

Donathan began coaching wrestling right out of college in 1989 and served either as an assistant or head coach at Little Miami, Edgewood, Franklin, Lebanon, and Western Brown high schools. He has also been a coach and director with USA Wrestling-Ohio from 1993 to the present.

Earning the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association (OHSWCA) Division II State Coach of the Year honors in 2017, Donathan has coached dozens of individual state qualifiers and placers throughout his career, mentored numerous wrestlers who went on to compete in college, and has more than 200 career dual wins. He also coached the Cadet Ohio National Teams, earning a runner-up finish in 2007 and is a member of both the Brown County and Western Brown Hall of Fame.