Ed Cruz has been the Head Coach of the OUAZ Women’s Wrestling Team since its inception. Coach Cruz has been involved in wrestling for over fifty years and brings a wealth of experience to the team.
Coach Cruz grew up in Columbus, Ohio and enlisted in the Marine Corps immediately following graduation from High School. He continued wrestling while in the Marine Corps and was a two time Freestyle All-American. Coach Cruz is a veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and retired from the Marine Corps in 1993 as a Chief Warrant Officer (W4).
Upon his retirement from the Marines, he started his career as a teacher and wrestling coach. He has coached at Havelock Middle School and Havelock High School in North Carolina and Bexley High School in Ohio. He was also the Head Coach for the Havelock Wrestling Club in North Carolina and was an Assistant Coach and Head Coach for Team North Carolina at the USA Wrestling National Championships in Fargo, ND.
Coach Cruz’s teams and individual wrestlers have been highly successful. Below are some of the highlights of his career.
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2022 and 2023 NCWA National Women’s Coach of the Year
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3X NCWA West Coast Conference Women’s Coach of the Year
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Career Dual Meet Record of 307 – 44
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Four High School State Championships
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Nine High School Regional Championships
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Sixteen High School Conference Championships
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Eleven NCUSA Club Freestyle State Championships
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Nine NCUSA Club Greco-Roman State Championships
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Numerous individual State Champions, State Placers, UWW (Women and Men) Cadet & Jr All-Americans, and US Senior All-Americans.
Coach Cruz has been married for 48 years to his wife Gail. They have two adult children (Stephanie and Edward) and seven Grandchildren (Caroline, Jace, Cannon, Brenden, Catcher, Scarlet, and Genevieve).
