Carley Rusk knows what it takes to start an athletic program and is looking forward to doing it again — just at a much different level.
Rusk, who was on the ground floor when Geneseo High School began its girls’ wrestling program, is about to take on an even more daunting task heading up the women’s program at St. Ambrose University.
SAU athletic director Mike Holmes announced on Monday that Rusk, a 2019 SAU graduate, is returning to the school to build the women’s wrestling program that will begin competing in the 2026-2027 school year.
“I am extremely excited for another opportunity to jump-start a women’s wrestling program,” said Rusk in a university press release. “I have been lucky enough to coach this rapidly growing sport, and I am really looking forward to doing this work at my alma mater. I am ready for the challenge of collegiate coaching and can’t wait for our inaugural season.”
She was named the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association 2024 Coach of the Year after leading the Maple Leafs to a sectional team title this past season.
Rusk, who started Geneseo’s team as a club sport in 2022, comes from a deep wrestling background. Her dad, Tom, wrestled for Orion High School and Monmouth College. Her uncle, Steve, was a state champ at Orion High School and was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American at Augustana College. She wrestled as a youngster.
SAU officials announced in August that the NAIA-affiliated institution was adding women’s varsity wrestling as its 31st varsity sport. The school is applying to join the Heart of America Athletic Conference. SAU’s men’s wrestling team already competes in the Heart as an affiliate member.
The infrastructure for the addition of the women’s program has been in place since the school built its wrestling/football building at the St. Vincent Athletic Complex in 2021. Separate office and locker room space for the women’s wrestling team was created in the building.
This marks Rusk’s return to the Davenport school where she did her undergraduate work and earned her degree in Early Childhood Education after graduating from Geneseo High School. She was a member of the Fighting Bees’ softball team.
She is a kindergarten teacher at Millikin Elementary in the Geneseo district and has also coached middle school and high school levels of softball.
“We had a tremendous group of candidates for our position, and Carley distinguished herself with the positive direction of her high-school program and clear connection with coaching female wrestlers,” said Holmes. “She has a knowledge of St. Ambrose and the culture here and has a tremendous plan for the recruitment of a new sport to get it off the ground with a good foundation.”
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TJ Johnston
sports writer/golf editor
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