Wawasee wrestling head coach Frank Bumgardner announced to his team that he is resigning after eight years at the helm.

Wawasee’s wrestling offseason will have a different feel for the first time in nearly a decade.

For the past eight years, Frank Bumgardner has steered the program in a positive and successful direction. But in a season of life where his coaching roles were plenty busy, his life at home also was growing and getting more and more hectic.

The addition of a third child, Ella Rose, in the past month has put Bumgardner at a crossroads, and ultimately, deciding to step away from the program to spend more time with his family.

“Being slightly older and hopefully a bit more mature, I’ve been able to see what the cost of ‘at home’ for me to coach is,” Bumgardner said. “I truly love wrestling in the program and community, but I now need to spend my time and focus on my family and giving them everything I have.”

Bumgardner’s direct approach with the program, from the top down, was a sticking point with the athletes and families he served. Joining the Wawasee program in 2015 after an eight-year stint at his alma mater Whitko, Bumgardner’s impact was immediate. He turned around the program that was still digging out of a difficult stretch in the 2000s to reclaim itself as one of the premier teams in the state. His delivery of a IHSWCA Team State championship in 2018 and runner-up finish in 2019 were major mat highlights.

Strictly by the numbers, Bumgardner was responsible for guiding Wawasee to 161 team wins in his eight years, winning three of every four duals. He guided the Warriors to team sectional championships in five of the past six seasons, a convincing run in 2023 as the most recent effort. Bumgardner was particularly proud about the semi-state qualifiers he produced, sending 58 wrestlers to stage three of the state tournament, and 15 to the IHSAA State Finals, most recently getting 10 to the East Chicago Semi-state and four to the State Finals this past season. Eight of those 15 would go on to podium, including Braxton Alexander finishing second in 2019 and Hunter Miller taking sixth this past February.

Bumgardner was not strictly linked to his coaching ability in the room, but took more pride in building character in his athletes. Unafraid of building team camaraderie through faith and positivity, Bumgardner took several of his athletes on mission’s trips and connected with several athletes through mentorships. Bumgardner also brought success to Syracuse in the form of guest speakers, including camp guests like University of Nebraska coaches Mark Manning and Bryan Snyder, and college wrestling superstars Chad Red Jr. and Kendrick Maple.

Well connected in the game, Bumgardner also had a chance to help train local superstar Sarah Hildebrandt in her quest to a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and has ties to USA Wrestling through Terry Steiner.

With Ella the newest to his wrestling team at home with daughters Molly and Avery along with wife, Hillary, the Bumgardners are shifting to a new chapter in life. But it doesn’t mean the chapter with Wawasee wrestling is written and closed.

“Wawasee Wrestling is a truly special program made up of a bunch of amazing people,” stated Bumgardner. “I believe the program is in phenomenal shape moving forward with an amazing group of coaches, support staff, parents and community members surrounding it. I’ve said from day one that there are a lot of great people doing a lot of great things in this program.

Continued Bumgardner, “Our youth programs now have larger numbers than ever before. Our high school program now has some of the largest numbers on record. Girls wrestling is now established and growing. We have as many coaches in the program as ever before. We have had success at every level. All of this due to a lot of great people doing a lot of great things.

“’Warrior Tough’ has been the moniker during my time and it’s a very simple message: We will be tough and give our best to whatever the task is at hand. Whether it be scoring in overtime, the daily drill session, turning in homework, doing the dishes, or showing someone kindness. We will give our best. I would expect to continue to see that at all levels of our program moving forward, as again, we have phenomenal people surrounding the program and making sure we are producing great young men and women.”