Pictured: Joe Colon (left) and Joe Rau (right). Images and official release courtesy of Northwestern Athletics.
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern wrestling welcomes Joe Colon and Joe Rau to the Wildcats' coaching staff, head coach Matt Storniolo announced on Tuesday.
Colon will serve as an assistant coach and will specialize working with the Wildcats' lightweight wrestlers, while Rau joins the team as a volunteer assistant working with the 'Cats' upperweights. Both wrestlers bring an abundance of experience having earned numerous accomplishments on both the collegiate and professional circuits.
As a specialist in Greco-Roman wrestling, Rau joins the Cats with an impressive resumé that includes two US Open championships (2016, 2019). After winning gold at the 2020 Pan Am Olympic qualifier and 2020 Pan Am Olympic championships, the Chicago native earned a spot on the 2020 US Olympic team.
"It's great having Joe Rau back in Evanston," said Storniolo. "Joe trained with our RTC for several years and had a huge impact on our upperweight wrestlers. The only thing that rivals his passion for wrestling is his personality. I am thrilled he has come back home to Chicago."
At the collegiate level, Rau wrestled at Elmhurst College where he finished his career as a two time CCIW champion and a three-time NCAA DIII All-American with a career record of 51-16. Before college, Rau wrestled at St. Patricks high school where he was an Illinois state qualifier, two-time conference champion, and freestyle state champion.
Colon joins the Wildcats after spending four seasons on the staff at Fresno State as a volunteer assistant coach. While coaching with the Bulldogs, he also competed as a member of the US National Team at 61 kg, ranking among the top wrestlers in the world at his weight class.
"The last piece of the puzzle was finding a lightweight coach to round out the staff, we could not have done better than Joe Colon," said Storniolo. "The former Midlands champ and world bronze medalist is no stranger to Evanston. He's competed on the biggest stages our sport has to offer and brings a wealth of wrestling knowledge with him."
Colon earned a world bronze medal in 2018 while wrestling at 61 kg. The former Northern Iowa star also took home a pair of gold medals wrestling in the 61 kg men's freestyle division at the 2018 Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru as well as the 2018 US Open Championships.
Competing with the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, Colon won the Bill Farrell International championship, finished fourth at the World Team Trials and fifth at the U.S. Open in 2014. In 2015, Colon earned his spot on Team USA finishing second at the U.S. World Team Trials, third at the Cerro Pelado International meet and fourth at the U.S. Open.
In college, Colon wrestled two seasons with Northern Iowa and qualified for a pair of NCAA Tournaments in 2012 and 2014, ultimately placing third in the 2014 championships on his way to earning All-American status. The Clear Lake, Iowa native compiled a 62-6 record in his two seasons with Northern Iowa, including a perfect 24-0 mark in duals. Prior to arriving at UNI, Colon wrestled at Iowa Cerntral Community College, where he helped the Tritons win the 2010 NJCAA team National Championship while also securing an individual national title of his own at 125 lbs on his way to being named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler.
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