North Central College Men's Wrestling

Norton returned to North Central College as the Head Wrestling Coach in 2014 after previously holding the same position at Knox College. He is currently the NWCA Rankings Committee representative for the Midwest Region of NCAA Division III. Joe was a four-year starter for the Cardinals wrestling team from 2006-2010. He served as a captain as the team achieved a national ranking as high as fourth in the national coaches poll in 2009. During his four years in the Cardinal lineup, the team tallied a combined record of 51-17-1. Individually, Norton was a three-time champion and four-time finalist at the North Central Invitational. He was ranked as high as ninth nationally at 125 pounds and placed in the Regional tournament four times, including a third-place finish in 2009. As a senior, Norton was the recipient of North Centrals Senior Influence Award for leadership across all sports as well as the Merle Chapman award from the CCIW. After completing his career as a competitor, Norton remained with the team as a graduate assistant coach and served as the primary lightweight coach. The team achieved a ninth-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Championships as Nathan Fitzenreider earned a runner-up finish at 125 pounds and Andrew Zobac finished fifth at 141 pounds. Overall, Norton has coached eight NCAA Qualifiers and five All-Americans. In 2015, Nortons first season as the programs Head Coach, the team achieved a 7-5 dual meet record and qualified two wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, with Layten Binion brining home All-American honors after a sixth-place finish at 141 pounds. The team also achieved two Scholar All-Americans and earned a team GPA of 3.33, the highest in the programs history. In 2016, the team finished with an overall record of 4-9 and qualified three wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. As a prep athlete at Montini Catholic High School, Norton was a two-time IHSA State Qualifier, while earning All-State and All-American honorees as a senior. He was a part of three IHSA State Championship teams, serving as a team captain as a senior. Joe received his bachelors degree in print journalism in 2010 from North Central, before earning a masters degree from the college in sports leadership in 2013.  

Fredricksen joined the North Central College coaching staff as a graduate assistant coach for the Cardinals' wrestling program prior to the start of the 2014-2015 school year. Jake comes to North Central from UW-Whitewater, where he served as an assistant coach during the 2013-2014 season. The Warhawks achieved a program record second-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Division III Championships and a record five All-Americans. As a competitor at UW-Whitewater, Jake qualified three times for the NCAA Championships, finishing in the nations top 12 each year and ranking as high as 5 th nationally as an individual at 141 pounds. He was a 2013 NWCA Academic All-American and ranks 4 th all-time at UW-Whitewater with 111 career victories. Jake received a bachelors degree in Health and Human Performance from UW-Whitewater and graduated from North Central with a masters degree in leadership studies in 2016.

Segal joined the Cardinal Wrestling staff as an Assistant Coach in the summer of 2015 after a stellar four-year career on the mat for the Cardinals. Segal was a three-year starter and a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Champion at 149 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships as a senior in 2015. During his career, Segal was a runner up at the North Central Invitational and Concordia Open, and champion of the Manchester Spartan Mat Classic. He was honored as the CCIW wrestler of the week on 12/24/2013 and received the programs prestigious Hammer award in 2015. He won 85 matches during his career and served as the co-President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. During the spring of 2015, he completed a strength and conditioning internship with Coach Norton and the wrestling team. Segal graduated in May of 2015 with a degree in Sociology and minors in Physical Education and Coaching.  

Zobac joined the Cardinals coaching staff in summer 2014 as an assistant coach, after serving as a graduate assistant beginning the summer of 2012. Zobac was a four-year letter winner for the Cardinals from 2008-2012, winning two College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championships and qualifying for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships twice. Zobac earned All-America honors as a senior, closing out his career with a fifth-place finish at the national championships. He is one of 10 wrestlers in North Central history to have won at least 40 matches in a single season, and ranks ninth all-time in wins (107) and tenth in winning percentage (.759).  Zobac graduated from North Central in 2012 with a bachelors degree in exercise science and a masters degree in leadership studies, with an emphasis in higher education leadership in 2014.

Burns joined the Cardinal wrestling staff as an assistant coach in 2014. Burns comes to North Central from Augustana College, where he was an NCAA All-American at 174 pounds in 2013 and an individual champion at the North Central Invitational. In 2012, he was the CCIW Champion and qualified for the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. Burns graduated from Augustana in 2013 with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and a minor in Chinese-Mandarin, and spent the 2013-2014 season as an assistant wrestling coach at Naperville Central High School. He currently serves as the Assistant Youth Director at Our Saviours Lutheran Church in Naperville.