Hastings Wrestling

A mainstay in our wrestling booster club, Patti Kopp (Randolph '85) has just finished her 17th year, serving 16 years as Vice President and one year as Concession Coordinator, and is now transitioning to full-time Concession Stand Coordinator! Patti originally stepped up to run for Vice President so she could take charge of concessions, a role she loved helping with from the start. Over the years, one of her greatest joys has been watching our youth grow up in the program, seeing kids she remembers as preschoolers mature into high school graduates. A proud parent of four adult children and one grandchild, Patti loves how truly homegrown our program is, our wrestlers start as youth, rarely transfer in, and so many families continue following and supporting the team long after their own kids have graduated. Looking back on all these years, Patti’s favorite memory was being at the arena in 2023 when the team pulled off an incredible come-from-behind victory to beat STMA at the state t...

Carley Eichmann is excited to begin her first season as a Booster Club member for the wrestling program, taking on a brand-new role as Media Manager. A 2012 graduate of Byron High School, Carley and her family are deeply passionate about the program and the strong sense of community and family it creates. She and her husband, Isaac (entering his 4th season as a high school assistant coach), have been married for eight years and have three beautiful children who are eager to experience everything this supportive community has to offer. For Carley, some of the most meaningful moments come from watching Isaac coach and pour his heart into the wrestlers, celebrating their growth and dedication every step of the way. She looks forward to sharing these moments, highlighting the team's achievements, and capturing the energy and spirit of the program in her new role this season. 

  Coach George Lynaugh is entering his 2nd year coaching our girls wrestling team. He is a 2003 graduate of Simley HS. In high school, he took 6th place at the MSHSL tournament during his sophomore year and was a MSHSL State Champion during his junior and senior year. He also took 6th place at the Senior Championships in 2003 and was a Cadet All-American in freestyle. In college, he was a 2x D3 National Qualifier and a member of the Augsburg National Team Champions.  One of the main reasons George started coaching at Hastings was that he has daughters who are in the program. He is very excited about the growth of girls and the importance of continuing to grow it. George's favorite memory so far coaching at Hastings has been girls team outperforming expectations in placing 3rd at Team State!

Coach Autumn Flanigan is a 2020 Troy Buchanan (MO). During high school she was a boys AAU state champ, girls folkstyle state champ, 2x girls freestyle state champ, a member of Missouri's national team, and a Fargo All-American. After high school, she attended Augsburg University where she was a 4x National qualifier,  Regional Champion, and an All-American, taking 3rd place at the National Tournament.  This is Autumn's first year coaching at Hastings HS after helping at Simley last year. She is really excited to start working with our high school program and help with the growth of girls wrestling in Minnesota. Autumn is a current member of the US Army and is a PE teacher at GAP in St. Paul!

  Coach Rico Cooper is a 2023 Hastings High School graduate. During his time at Hastings HS, he was All-State two times taking 6th in both his junior and senior years. He was also a key member of the 2023 State Championship Team.  This is Rico's second year coaching and he got into coaching because of Coach Josh McLay and Coach Tim Haneberg. He wanted to coach in order to give back to the community that helped him out throughout his life. He is excited to coach in Hastings in order to see high school kids transform into young men and women.  His favorite memory of Hastings wrestling has been the 2023 State Championship match. 

  Coach Jake Gotto is originally from Dubuque, Iowa and graduated from Western Dubuque High school (Iowa) in 2012 where he was a four year HS starter, had 100 varsity wins by Junior year, was a 2x State Qualifier, and at time of graduation, he was in the top five of most wins in school history. After high school, Jake wrestled at Coe College.  Jake has been coaching for 6 years since graduating college. This includes running the Marion Kids Club and coached at Marion High School (2 years). He also volunteered at Eagle Grove kids club (1 year). He also coached at Ankeny High School (1 year) and moved to Virginia where he coached at Cosby High School (1 year). He wanted to coach in Hastings because he heard great things about the athletes and coaching staff. He is excited to work with motivated and committed coaches and wrestlers. Jake said that, "So far my favorite thing has been seeing how dedicated the coaches are to the team and how much thought goes into each year. Also...