Wilkes University Wrestling

Kruczek begins her first season as Wilkes Women's Wrestling head coach after being hired on July 17, 2025. Kruczek was tabbed to lead the newly created program (announced

Gundlah '23 returns to her alma mater as a part of the Wilkes women's wrestling staff in 2025-26 as an Assistant Coach. Gundlah spent four years as a member of

Butka '25 joins the Wilkes men's wrestling staff in 2025-26 as an assistant coach after a historic career on the mat as a Colonel. The Scranton, Pa. native finished as the winningest wrestler in program history with a career record of 137-24 at 197 lbs. A two-time All-American, Butka finished fourth at the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and was an NCAA finalist in 2025. He is also a two-time regional champion at 197 lbs., winning the title in 2024 and 2025. As a sophomore, Butka took home the 197 lb. title at the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship and was named First Team All-MAC. Off the mat, Butka was a four-time National Wrestling Coaches' Association Scholar All-American and was selected to the College Sports Communicators At-Large Academic All-America® Third Team in 2025. As a sophomore, Butka was inducted into the prestigious Colonels Elite society and the Beta Delta chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma as a junior. Butka was also named the Wilkes Athletics Male Athlete of the Year three consecutive years (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25). Butka graduated from Wilkes in May 2025 with a degree in Biochemistry.

Colton Babcock returns to the Wilkes wrestling staff in 2025-26 for his third season as an assistant coach.

Bauer '24 joins the Wilkes wrestling staff as an assistant coach for the 2025-26 season. Bauer was a member of the men's wrestling team for five seasons, finishing

Jon Laudenslager enters his 23rd season at the helm of the Wilkes University wrestling program in 2025-26. During his tenure as head coach, Laudenslager has led

Josh Evans enters his eighth season as an assistant coach for the Wilkes wrestling program in 2025-26. Evans had an accomplished career for the Wilkes wrestling

Chander returns in 2025-26 for his second year as the assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator of men's wrestling. In 2024-25, Chander helped coach Cameron Butka (197) to his second regional championship and All-American honor, finishing as an NCAA Finalist. He also helped coach Caleb Burkhardt (285) to his second NCAA Tournament appearance. Chander, a four-year men's wrestling student-athlete at Wilkes, was the head coach at Pennsylvania College of Technology since June 2022. Under his leadership, the Wildcats achieved their first ever team national ranking from the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) in 2023-24 and became the first program in Penn College history to advance to the NCAA Championships. Chander also coached the team to their first winning dual record and first season with two top five tournament finishes. Before his tenure at Penn College, Chander had a successful stint as a graduate assistant wrestling coach at Springfield College that he started in 2020 while working towards his master's degree. He coached 12 NWCA Scholar All-Americans across two seasons and led a wrestler to a top 12 finish in the 2022 NCAA DIII Championship. In August 2018, Chander was named an assistant wrestling coach at Gettysburg College, coaching three NWCA Scholar All-Americans, a Division III NCAA Qualifier, and four NCAA Southeast regional place winners. During his time as a Colonel, Chander amassed a career record of 91-50 and was the champion of the 2015 Wilkes O

Turner ‘16 joins the Wilkes wrestling staff as an assistant coach for the 2025 season. Turner spent four years with the men’s wrestling team as a student-athlete