Jamie Salazar was chosen to become the next head coach of Wawasee Wrestling.

It was nearly four years ago that Jamie Salazar sat under the same umbrella at the same table outside Joe’s Ice Cream in Syracuse talking about himself. Spinning the same orange slushie and wearing the same Manchester University ring, life presented another ‘full circle’ this past July 4th.

But rather than pitching a story about his life and times as an athlete, Salazar advanced to a recent chapter of his autobiography, now as the leader of the program that helped define part of his identity.

In 2019, Salazar was named to the Manchester University Athletic Hall of Fame, to which the wrestling great swirled his slushie back then in a sheepish attempt to not brag on his upbringing and road to fame. Turn the pages to chapter 2023 and Salazar now has a different headline in the ongoing story that is Wawasee Wrestling.

The gregarious yet humble coach has officially been named head coach of the Wawasee wrestling program, an even bigger dream than the personal accolades he received nearly a half-decade ago.

“I was actually driving around for work up in Elkhart,” Salazar stated, setting the scene. “I was jamming out to some Yolanda Adams, some gospel stuff. I was already hyped up. I was at a stoplight and Doty gave me a call and gave me the rundown, and asked me if I was willing to take the position. Man…I mean…It was crazy. I told him yes, was pumped at the stoplight. You had all these people there looking at me like I was crazy. It was such a blessing in that moment.”

Jamie Salazar watches part of the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals on the TV monitors in the media room with state finalists Hunter Miller and Donnie Blair last February.

It’s not as if Salazar just randomly tossed his name in the hat and hoped for the best. His wrestling identity has forever been linked to the Warrior program, whether a young buck in the room while the Salazar family patriarchs were helping carve their legacies, or as an athlete himself at the end of the 90s. Choosing not to chase Division I opportunities, he continued a Wawasee pipeline to Manchester, where he became a three-time All-American performer and a Nationals finalist to boot.

Coming back to Syracuse, he helped establish the Viper junior wrestling program with his brother, Joe, and later became an assistant coach with the high school program. Most recently as the varsity assistant coach, Salazar and Frank Bumgardner continued to build the Wawasee wrestling brand. When Bumgardner’s third daughter was born this past spring, the head coach decided to hang up his wrestling boots for the time being. That presented the opportunity of a lifetime.

“You think about being the eighth or ninth coach to ever run this program, it’s an honor for sure,” Salazar said. “I think back to my coaches, the coaches before them. It’s surreal to take in. I feel like it’s not just me in this position. It’s everybody who walked up those stairs, who grew up in this neighborhood. We spent summers grinding instead of fooling around on the lake. We’re up there all winter. The camaraderie we had is what this program is all about. You are all one.”

His voice will still be the same in the room this fall, but his approach will slightly differ than that of the departed head coach.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘me versus Frank’ of how the wrestling room will function, it never was or is my intention,” Salazar said. “The mission is still the same. But it will be my voice associated with it.”

Asked to elaborate on his vision for the upcoming season, his first at the wheel, “We had a lot of young guys who were asked to step into leadership roles, some for the first time in their wrestling careers. And the spotlight eventually got to them. There were some growing pains we had to overcome. After we addressed some of them, I think we became a more cohesive unit and that should carry over to this year.

“There’s a learning curve for them, and I’m sure I’ll have some as well. I think right now we will have a lot of kids excited, and some won’t know what to expect. A majority of these kids have had me as a coach at some point of their lives, so they do have a level of expectation as far as what I expect. It’s just time to go to work. Strictly business.”