Williams will take over Solon wrestling program

Blake Williams will return to coaching.

The time away from running a program was short.

On the heels of the announcement that he was stepping down as the head coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie to accept a teaching position next school year with Solon Community School District, Spartans Activities Director Keith McSweeney announced Williams also has been hired as Solon head wrestling coach, pending board approval.

Williams coached the Spartans from 1999-2003 before coaching Prairie for 12 seasons. Williams guided Solon to the State Duals in 2001, which still is the only time in school history.

'Having Blake back in our district is tremendous,” McSweeney said in a news release. 'Blake is an amazing educator and decorated coach, and we couldn't be more pleased that he will (again) be leading our wrestling program.”

Williams has two children that attend school in Solon, and his wife, Emy Williams, is the Spartans' head boys' and girls' country coach. He stated family was a main reason he wanted to return to teach middle-school physical education.

'I'm very excited for the opportunity to come back to Solon as a teacher and as a wrestling coach,” Williams said in the s release. 'Having previously taught and coached in the district, as well as having my wife and two children there, I'm well aware of the rich tradition in both academics and athletics. I'm ready to build upon the success of the wrestling program and look forward to being back in the community.”

T.J. Bevans previously held the head coaching position, replacing Brooks McLaren. He coached six state qualifiers last season, including medalists Louis Gnida, Cole Fritz and Logan Linderbaum. Bevans wrestled for Williams at Solon.

'When Blake came to me and asked where he could fit in on the coaching staff, I told him there's only one spot, and that's as head coach, and I will be honored to be your assistant,” Bevans said in the news release. 'A lot of people don't realize that Coach Williams was my high school coach and he helped mold me into the man I am today. Over my years in coaching, he has been my biggest mentor and I couldn't be more excited to welcome home Coach Williams.”

Below is the full news release from Solon Community School District:

Press Release: April 10, 2015

The Solon Community School District is pleased to announce the hiring of Blake Williams as Head Wrestling Coach (pending School Board approval).

Solon Activities Director, Keith McSweeney, stated, 'Having Blake back in our District is tremendous. Blake is an amazing educator and decorated coach, and we couldn't be more pleased that he will (again) be leading our wrestling program”.

Coach Williams stated, 'I'm very excited for the opportunity to come back to Solon as a teacher and as a wrestling coach. Having previously taught and coached in the district, as well as having my wife and two children there, I'm well aware of the rich tradition in both academics and athletics. I'm ready to build upon the success of the wrestling program and look forward to being back in the community.”

Blake will succeed T.J. Bevans as Head Wrestling Coach after he served one season at the helm, guiding 6 qualifiers to the individual State Meet during the 2014-2015 season. Coach Bevans stated, 'When Blake came to me and asked where he could fit in on the coaching staff, I told him there's only one spot, and that's as Head Coach, and I will be honored to be your assistant. A lot of people don't realize that Coach Williams was my high school coach and he help mold me into the man I am today. Over my years in coaching, he has been my biggest mentor and I couldn't be more excited to welcome home Coach Williams”.

Coach Williams is a 1993 graduate of Decorah High School and earned his teaching degree in Elementary Education from Wartburg in 1997. Blake previously served as 3rd Grade Elementary School Teacher and Head Wrestling Coach at Solon from 1999-2003.

Most recently, Blake has served as an Elementary Teacher and Head Wrestling Coach at C.R. Prairie/College Community (2003-2015) where he was named MVC Coach of the Year 7 times, District Coach of the Year 5 times, as well as 3A State Coach of the Year in 2007. Coach Williams guided the Prairie Hawks to the State Dual Tournament 9 times, has coached 51 state medalists, and led Prairie to a 253-57 dual record, including 104-14 in the MVC.

Blake will be serving as Middle School Physical Education Teacher in the Solon Community School District (pending Board Approval). Blake's wife, Emy, currently serves as an Elementary School Teacher at Solon's Lakeview Elementary, as well as Head Cross Country Coach at Solon High School.

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