One person took on the challenge of leading the inaugural women’s wrestling team to regionals while simultaneously coaching the national qualifying women’s soccer team.

Mark Stauffer officially accepted the role mid-year as interim head coach of the women’s wrestling team while in the Sweet 16 bracket of the NCAA DIII women’s soccer tournament in late October.  

Stauffer had been away from the sport for several years but had always missed parts of it. Even before taking on the position of interim head coach, he had pushed to bring wrestling to Misericordia.  

“It was an exciting challenge for me; I felt an opportunity was there for me to get back involved in the sport that taught me so much throughout my development,” he said.  

Stauffer’s initial concerns with taking on such a role consisted of not knowing who he was going to be working with. He had to step into the role without the usual advantage a head coach has — getting to know the wrestlers through recruiting and communication. 

“It was so important to meet [them]. which is why when I came in, I was like, I [have] to meet them, get them in the room, and let me come in and just find out who they are as people,” he said.  

Working with both programs at the same time, as well as being the head of intramural sports challenged Stauffer to become a better communicator. He believes it helped highlight sometimes where he wasn’t the best at communicating with where he was and what he wanted to do.  

“I also found out there were times in certain weeks where I struggled with it and I felt I’d let people down, but it made me a better person with the challenging of the management of fitting all of them together and making it work,” he said.  

Sacrifices had to be made by Stauffer and both teams since he was involved in so many programs at once. Some days the soccer team was given more focus, and others the wrestling team. At least one team had to give for the day.  

“I tried to talk to each group when I wasn’t going to be available, just to be fair to them,” he said.  

Starting a season with a brand-new head coach who was involved with other programs was a learning adjustment the members of the wrestling team had to face. According to Ahlexa Montalvo, a freshman member of the wrestling team, the beginning of the season when there were still a lot of unknowns was scary.  

“Stauffer had come in as this sort of part-time head coach, and I was worried we wouldn’t have somebody to lean on exactly as he was more committed to another sport at the time,” she said. 

Montalvo’s fears were relaxed as the season went on, becoming more comfortable going to Stauffer about both wrestling and non-wrestling affairs. Once the coaching issue for the first season was solved, most of the concerns lay with the team itself.  

“There was a lot of hullabaloos regarding things like who would be team captain which made it hard to train as a team. The beginning direction was really bad because girls were looking for coaches’ approval more than making the team better,” she said.  

As the season went on and Stauffer got to work with the team more, Montalvo believes the team started to come together and have a stronger focus.  

“Once we got a coach and those who didn’t want to be a part of the team were funneled out, we stuck it out and stayed committed as a team,” she said.  

Mindsets of the team started to develop in the weeks leading up to the regional tournament. Montalvo felt that this is when the team really started focusing on themselves. Stauffer himself felt this shift in the room as well.  

“The whole group started coming in with a bit better attitude, a bit better focus, and they had a drive as to what they were trying to accomplish. And it was fun to watch the growth of a training session from where we were in November to coming into the room in February,” he said.  

According to the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics, until at least 2027, all three divisions of NCAA women’s wrestling will compete together to facilitate growth and development of the sport. This provides a challenge for wrestlers specifically in division 3, as they are competing against high level athletes they normally wouldn’t see.  

“During the post-season, despite the high-level girls we were going to see, we really started focusing on ourselves and what we could improve on. [Division] 3 isn’t an elite level, but it’s a level where people start to try to understand their sport more than high school,” Montalvo said.  

Although the regional tournament produced no national qualifiers, the tournament proved a highlight of the team’s mentality and striving. Stauffer said a wrestler cannot control wins and losses; they can control their mindset and effort.  

“It was probably the first full event that I felt we got that from every single person that stepped on the mat. And that meant so much to me as a coach. And I told the team that day and I hope they understand how much it really meant to me,” he said.  

Although only being the head coach for one season, Stauffer has implemented morals that will stick with the team for years to come, specifically with the way he acts and talks.  

“He thinks like a philosopher. He’s kind of weird, but like in a dad-listening, philosophy questioning everything, mindset type of way if that makes sense. We saw that we could go to him really about anything, which meant a lot to us,” Montalvo said.  

With the first season coming to a close in February, the search for a permanent head coach has begun. According to the Misericordia athletic department, a nationwide search has started to find someone to be the perfect fit for the team. Stauffer will be a part of this hiring process, meeting with future candidates and having a full say in the selection of a new coach.  

“I’m going to help the [coach] navigate the first couple of months a lot faster than I think a lot of new coaches coming in without that information be able to,” he said.  

The women of the team have the advantage of providing the school with what coaching styles work best for them, being able to help decide what coach is the right fit for what the team needs.  

“The [coach] can’t just assume that everybody has the same skill level as the other; they have to tailor to each wrestlers needs. Everybody has a different thing that coaches do what works for them,” Montalvo said.  

In terms of future involvement with the team, Stauffer says he is available for the team with their growth and development in both wrestling and in their academic and social life but prefers to be fully committed to one program.  

“I think from a full-time deal it was probably a one-time experience just because I want to be able to give all of me to a program that I’m trying to help. But I love the sport and want to be involved in it,” he said.