West Delaware wrestling coach Jeff Voss reaches 500 career wins with program culture ‘the secret sauce’

MANCHESTER — Jeff Voss admitted he has never concentrated on numbers.

Oh, he knew a milestone was coming when he had to fill out preseason surveys and questionnaires to promote his wrestlers and the program. He quickly forgot about it as soon as he started mopping the West Delaware wrestling room the Sunday before the official first day of practice.

The Hawks, his family, friends and program supporters knew the significance of last Thursday’s 31-28 victory at Class 2A No. 14 Solon. Voss became just the eighth coach in Iowa history to reach 500 career dual wins.

No. 4 West Delaware improved to 12-2 and boosted his all-time mark to 500-36-1, entering Thursday’s dual at rival Independence.

“I knew it was going to happen some point this year,” Voss said. “I just didn’t know when. We’re just trying to get our team to wrestle as good as we can and get the kids healthy. That’s been our focus.”

A banner made by his son, Jared, a former West Delaware prep and the 184-pound starter for Coe College, was on display, depicting some memories during the past 28 seasons as Hawks head coach.

“There have been a lot of them (highlights) over the years where maybe we weren’t the favored team but the kids battled for each other and our program,” Voss said. “When kids can do that for the name on their singlet, those are special.”

Voss was an assistant for four seasons, leaving to serve as Monticello head coach for one year before returning to lead West Delaware since the 1995-96 season. He has guided West Delaware to seven overall state championships in 29 seasons.

The Hawks won a traditional tournament title in 2013 and state duals crowns in 2020 and 2022. They swept both championships in 2019 and 2021.

Former West Delaware state champion and current assistant Mitch Peyton said Voss has thrived thanks to a constant desire to get better and evolve.

“What he teaches now is way different than back in the 1990s when he coached me,” said Peyton, whose sons, Logan and Jadyn, were on state duals championship teams. “He always wants to put the wrestlers in the best position to have success. He has also cared about each kid in the room and not just the studs.

“It takes 14 guys pulling for each other to have success as a team and he has constantly had 30-plus wrestlers in the room each year. The culture he has built doing all of this has been the secret sauce, in my opinion.”

Eleven Hawks have combined to win 13 individual state titles under Voss. Adam Reth and current University of Northern Iowa 197-pounder Wyatt Voelker, who was fifth at the 2023 Greco-Roman Championships, were two-time champions.

“He’s successful because he cares for the whole community (and) wants the best guy on the team to get better as much as he wants the little manager to get better,” Voelker said. “He doesn’t care about his win/loss record. He cared about improving yourself as a human being and making a strong family culture.

“He does it in a unique way as well, allowing the wrestlers to make the culture and doesn’t force rules. There’s a kind of standard and everyone upholds it from the manager to the best guy in the room.”

Voss has been blessed with consistency. Scott Litterer, a state championship head coach as well, and Kris Lenz have been longtime assistants. Much of his staff is comprised of former wrestlers Peyton, Reth, Brent Lammers, Nathan Vaske, Brian Klaus and his older son, Jake.

“The key is who you surround yourself with,” Voss said. “I’ve been extremely fortunate to surround myself with a lot of great people. When you do that and everybody’s on the same page for helping kids get better and achieve their goals, things like this happen.

“I think it’s a lot of people around me who have played a big role in it.”

Another major contribution has come from home. Each member of the Voss family has had a part. Jake and Jared were state medalists who helped the Hawks to a number of victories. His daughters, Joanna and Jennie were team managers — administrative assistants as Voss classified them. His wife, Janette, is a team photographer and has organized a lot behind the scenes. This is a feat shared by them.

“We figured out pretty early that it’s a pretty big commitment,” Voss said. “They all went together with it. It makes it special.

“The fact that they wanted to be involved makes it pretty cool. We got to spend a lot of time with each other, share a lot of memories and the support they’ve given over the years has been out of this world. It makes it pretty cool that the family was along for the journeys.”

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