Celso "Tony" DeAnda

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University has chosen a head coach for the fall 2021 inaugural season of its women’s wrestling program.

Celso “Tony” DeAnda was chosen after several stints of coaching women’s programs and serving as an assistant coach for the women’s wrestling program at the former U.S. Olympic Education Center at NMU. He was an international medalist in his own wrestling career.

“Members of the search committee and others involved in the search process were impressed with Tony’s detailed plan for building NMU women’s wrestling into a nationally competitive program,” Northern Director of Athletics Forrest Karr said. “Tony has contributed significantly to the growth of the sport and his considerable experience will benefit NMU student-athletes going forward.”

“I am thrilled and honored to return to Marquette to be the new head coach of women’s wrestling,” DeAnda said. “NMU has a rich history of wrestling and I am excited to begin a new chapter with what promises to be a successful program.

“I have many fond memories of the people and student-athletes at Northern Michigan since this is where my coaching career began.”

He most recently started the women’s wrestling program at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, where he was coach for the 2019-20 season. He coached five Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association All-Americans, including two national champions, and his team was fourth at the WCWA Nationals. Fifteen athletes also earned conference academic honor roll and two qualified for the Olympic team trials.

Before that, he was women’s wrestling head coach at the University of Providence in Rhode Island in 2017-18, where he had a WCWA All-American and had a wrestler finish runner-up and two others place at the 2017 United World Wrestling Under-23 Championships.

He was also head coach at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota, where he had 16 WCWA All-Americans and six WCWA Scholar Athletes as six wrestlers qualified for the Olympic team trials.

He started his collegiate career as an assistant at the USOEC from 2005-11, and as a member of USA Wrestling’s national staff for women’s freestyle, he helped coach Randi Miller at the USOEC before she moved on to the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center and captured a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.

DeAnda has also led teams internationally at world championships, the Pan-Am Championships and Youth Olympic Games.

As a wrestler himself, he won a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan-American Games; was ranked in the U.S. top 10; placed three times in national competition; and was a Real Pro Wrestling national champion, a five-time national champion in Mexico and NCAA Division II All-American.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.