Eagle Era

A deep dive into the switch in AHS wrestling team’s head coaches 

By Angella Li

Coming off a great season last year, the wrestling team is back and with a new head coach leading the game. Former Head Coach McLoy has been a part of the AHS wrestling community for over 20 years, but he stepped down after the 2024-2025 season.

Unfortunately, the planned new head coach was forced to resign due to unforeseen circumstances. Coach McLoy commented, “The new coach for the year, Russell Davis, quit on Tuesday, [November 4]. This was due to the government shutdown which prevented him from getting a DOJ and FBI clearance to coach at a public school.” As a result, Mr. Fornwald, an English teacher and assistant Athletic Director at AHS, stepped up to fill the position.

Head Coach Fornwald said, “I was considered before. I had said, ‘I would rather somebody else take it.’ When the other coach that we had hired dropped out, I took over because it was going to be very difficult to try and find a replacement.”

Coach McLoy has been an integral part of the wrestling team for a long time. As a result, his step down from the position of head coach impacted many athletes in the wrestling program. “I was initially really bummed because McLoy made a really big impact on me, but I understand that he has his commitments and that being head coach is a big responsibility,” said Grace Cao (11). “He’s still around for most practices, which is really nice, and he coaches sometimes.”

“Mr. McLoy had a really odd way of motivating an individual. I remember in a lot of my really early tournaments, it was a scary type of motivation where he would say, ‘Yeah, you’re scared. Do it,’” said Aidyn Dalling (12). “I didn’t really understand it, but as I got older in the sport, I came to have an appreciation for these talks because it’s a very harsh snap to reality. That’s something I really enjoyed about Coach McLoy.”

However, there is still uncertainty about what the new wrestling season will look like under new leadership. “I have Mr. Fornwald as an English teacher. Just seeing how he looks at wrestling compared to our old head coach, Mr. McLoy, I am excited to see where he takes the season,” said Christian Rand (12).

Head Coach Fornwald said, “I hope to continue a lot of what Coach McLoy started, follow in his footsteps, and build where I can. If there’s a particular set of skills that I have that I can improve on what he’s done, then I’ll do that. But mostly, I’m going to be continuing a lot of the culture of what he’s built.”

While league meets are mandatory and predecided, non-league tournaments fall under the jurisdiction of the head coach. “We have a very good team, and we’ve already started [the tournament sign-up] process. We’ve already gotten into some tournaments and gotten the scheduling going for that,” said Head Coach Fornwald. “We’re very fortunate to have some extra coaches. In particular, the Tillmans, [assistant coaches], were able to help get some more tournaments for our season.”

Aadhitya Nagaraj (9), left, wrestled with Ryan Puntero (11), right, during practice under the supervision of Assistant Coach Tillman and Former Head Coach McLoy (Photo Credit: Angella Li (10)).

New guidance inevitably brings changes to the team and schedules. Some athletes hope for changes in how the season will proceed. Cao said, “I wish we had more tournaments together, boys and girls, because I know a big thing that Coach McLoy had to deal with was that a lot of our tournaments were in separate places at the same time.”

Nonetheless, expectations for this wrestling season are strong. “I think we’re going to have something similar to what we had last year where we have some very strong wrestlers that go far in division and league,” said Head Coach Fornwald. “A lot of the same practices, the same rigor, the same mentality is still in place. A lot of the same coaches are still in place. I’m just here to help fill in the gaps.”