Parkside Athletics

Nick Becker '18 was hired as the head wrestling coach in May of 2021. He is the fourth head coach in program history.

Parkside continued their success under Becker over the course of the 2024-25 season. The season was highlighted with two All-Americans (Shane Corrigan 5^th, Dajun Johnson 3^rd). Parkside won the prestigious Midwest Classic, rising above one of the toughest tournament fields in all of the country. It was Parkside’s fifth all-time title at the event. The Rangers also finished second at the NCAA Super Region V Championships.  Parkside went 13-3 in duals and 7-2 in NSIC play. The Rangers also competed in the NWCA National Duals where they went 4-1 with three wins over ranked opponents, finishing fifth overall in the event.
 
The 2023-24 season was another successful year for Becker and the Rangers. Parkside sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, with four wrestlers earning All-American status (Reece Woracheck 4^th, Shane Corrigan 6^th, Brody Hemauer 6^th, Jalen Spuhler 6^th). The Rangers finished seventh as a team at the NCAA Championships, which Is the best team finish since the 2018 season. Parkside also was successful in the dual season, posting a 10-1 record with four wins over ranked teams.
 
The 2022-23 season was a historic one under Becker. Becker was named the NWCA Division II Coach of the Year and the NSIC Coach of the Year. The Rangers went undefeated in duals, posting an 11-0 overall record. Parkside was also perfect in NSIC duals going 9-0, securing their first NSIC Conference title. The signature win for the Rangers came on January 12th. Parkside defeated the then third-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies by a 20-19 score, handing the Huskies their first home loss since 2010 and their first NSIC loss since 2011, ending the streak of 88-straight NSIC victories. Parkside finished third as a team at the NCAA Super Region V Championships, finishing with four regional titles and five qualifying for the National Championships. At the National Championships, three Rangers earned All-American honors (Jalen Spuhler 4th, Reece Worachek 7th, Shane Corrigan 7th).
 
In his first season as head coach in 2021-22, Becker led the Rangers to a 5-4 dual record in the regular season, winning five straight from Jan. 21-Feb. 11. Becker saw the team take 3rd place at NCAA II Regionals, with four Parkside wrestlers moving on to Nationals. At Nationals, the team placed in 14th place. They were led by Shane Gantz, who finished as National Runner-up, and Reece Worachek, who finished eighth.
 
Becker, a 2018 Parkside graduate, had the most impressive career of any wrestler in Parkside's rich history. He was a 3-time NCAA Division II National Champion (2016, 2017, 2018), finished his career with a perfect 89-0 record, and is a 2-time NCAA D2 Wrestler of the Year.
 
Becker led Parkside to a third-place finish in the NCAA Division II Championships, the highest team finish in school history. He is the younger brother of Parkside wrestling greats Brad Becker '06, Kyle Becker '08, and Craig Becker '11, all of whom were All-Americans for the Rangers.
 
Most recently, Becker has served as the head coach of Wisconsin's Junior National Team, where he works with the best wrestlers in the state preparing for USA Wrestling's regional and national events. While working with the University of Wisconsin wrestling program from 2019-2020 at the Wisconsin Regional Training Center in Madison, Becker was training to become a member of the 2020 Olympic Wrestling. Following graduation, he worked for one year at Parkside as the Graduate Assistant Wrestling Coach in 2018-19. He has also worked with the Ben Askren Wrestling Academy for three years.
 
A native of Hartford, Wis., he graduated from Parkside in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.