University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire Men's Wrestling

Tim Fader enters his 11th season as the UW-Eau Claire Head Wrestling Coach in 2025-26. Fader is one of the most decorated coaches in all of NCAA Division III, surpassing 300 career dual victories during the 2022-23 season. He has received five national coach of the year awards throughout his career, two while at UW-Eau Claire, and was inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame in 2017. He has taken the Blugold wrestling program to new heights, highlighted by an unprecedented 2023-24 season. The Blugolds took fifth place at the NCAA Championships that year and produced the second national champion in program history, along with having a school record four All-Americans. UW-Eau Claire clinched a share of its first-ever Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team championship by tying UW-La Crosse at the WIAC Championships. The team also set new single-season school records for dual victories, pins, technical falls and major decisions, along with setting a new dual scoring record. For his work, Fader received The Open Mat's Division III Coach of the Year award and d3wrestle.com's Coach of the Year award. Fader has coached 11 All-Americans and seven individual WIAC champions at UW-Eau Claire. That accounts for nearly half of the program's all-time All-Americans in a span of only nine years. Fader previously served as the UW-Whitewater head coach for 10 years, the UW-La Crosse head coach for six years and a La Crosse assistant for three seasons. Fader won conference championships all six years he was head coach at La Crosse and his last three seasons at Whitewater. He was WIAC Coach of the Year four times in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2014 and National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2012, and the d3Wrestle.com National Coach of the Year in 2014 with a national runner-up finish at Whitewater. His teams have had eight top 10 finishes at nationals. His 2000 La Crosse squad won the national dual meet championship. He has coached more than 40 All-Americans and 55 Scholastic All-Americans. Fader has given the Blugold wrestling program some stability for the first time since veteran coach Don Parker retired in 2009 after 32 years as head coach. Prior to Fader, the Blugolds had five different head coaches in six years. A native of Illinois, Fader wrestled for his father Pete in high school at Rochelle High School. He wrestled collegiately at Augustana College, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Accounting and Finance-Business Administration. At Augustana, Fader was a two-time team MVP, two-time conference champion, three-time national qualifier, two-time NCAA Division III All-American and twice was named a First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He went on to earn a master’s degree in Sports Administration from UW-La Crosse in 1997. Fader is the proud father of son Rye and daughters Molly and Shae.

David Kurker enters his first year with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling coaching staff during the 2025-26 season. Kurker comes to Eau Claire from The Roxbury Latin School in Boston, Mass., where he served as the Assistant Wrestling Coach for the 24-25 wrestling season. While at Roxbury, Kurker helped coach three national prep qualifiers. Kurker holds NCAA Division III coaching experience when he coached at Vermont State University Castleton in Castleton Vt., where he served as a Graduate Assistant with the Spartans for two seasons. During his time out East, David coached, 19 regional place winners, 11 NCAA National Qualifiers, three NCAA All-Americans and 15 NWCA Scholar All-Americans. Outside of wrestling, Kurker has over three years' experience with sports performance that included stints at SMHC Sports Performance Center Saco at Maine Health in Saco, Maine and Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning Woburn & Middletown, Mass.   David attended Southern Maine University and had a successful four year career at his school finishing 19-11 in his senior year. A solid high school wrestler, Kurker was an All-State wrestler in high school in the state of Massachusetts. He earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science from USM and earned his master's in athletic leadership at Vermont-Castleton. Originally from Needham, Mass., Kurker now resides in Eau Claire, Wis. Kurker holds his Level 1 Certified Functional Strength Coach certificate as well as his Red Cross First Aid Certificate.

James Huntley enters his fifth year with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling coaching staff during the 2025-26 season. Huntley helped the Blugolds place fifth at the NCAA Championships and win their first-ever Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team championship in 2023-24. He was part of a coaching staff which produced a national champion, four All-Americans and six national qualifiers. The Blugolds achieved their highest ever ranking in the National Wrestling Coaches Association rankings that season. Huntley was a part of the Upper Midwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year for his efforts in 2021-22. His role within the coaching staff is technique development, individual workouts and practice planning, and preparation and recovery training for the team. Huntley, a Woodbury, Minnesota, native, graduated from UW-Eau Claire in the spring of 2021. During his four year wrestling career as a Blugold, he was a two-year captain and won over 40 matches. Before UWEC, Huntley wrestled for four years at Stillwater High School where he earned honors as a state place-winner (2017), state qualifier (2015, 2017), section champion (2015, 2017), first team all-conference (2015, 2016, 2017), and team captain (2016, 2017).

Justin Karkula enters his Ninth year with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling coaching staff during the 2024-25 season. Karkula helped the Blugolds place fifth at the NCAA Championships and win their first-ever Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team championship in 2023-24. He was part of a coaching staff which produced a national champion, four All-Americans and six national qualifiers. The Blugolds achieved their highest ever ranking in the National Wrestling Coaches Association rankings that season. Karkula was a part of the 2021-22 record setting season where the Blugolds finished the season with titles at the Messiah Invitational, 8 Man Battles and Pete Willson Invitational. In addition to a runner-up finish in the WIAC and Upper Midwest Regionals, the Blugolds had 11 Scholar All-Americans and 5 NCAA qualifiers. Karkula was a part of the Upper Midwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year for his efforts. He was also the Joe Merten Coaching award winner in October of 2022. Karkula's role within the coaching staff is technique development with the HWT wrestlers, local area recruiting and home event management. Karkula wrestled for the Blugolds from 2014-2017. He won 92 matches in his four-year career and qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2015 at Heavyweight. He also was a University Greco All-American during his college career. Karkula graduated from Oshkosh West High School and excelled in all three styles of wrestling during that time. He was a Freestyle All-American in Fargo with World Champions J'Den Cox and Kyle Snyder in his pool.  Karkula graduated from UW-Eau Claire and works as a science teacher in the Augusta School District.  He resides in Eau Claire with his wife, Katherine.

Brandon Carroll enters his fourth year with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling coaching staff during the 2025-26 season. In his first season with the Blugolds, Carroll helped UW-Eau Claire achieve its highest ever ranking in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III poll. He helped the Blugolds produce a national runner-up, two All-Americans and two WIAC champions. The team hit new heights in Carroll's second year on staff in 2023-24, placing fifth at the NCAA Championships and producing the second national champion in program history, along with having a school record four All-Americans. UW-Eau Claire clinched a share of its first-ever Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team championship by tying UW-La Crosse at the WIAC Championships. The team also set new single-season school records for dual victories, pins, technical falls and major decisions, along with setting a new dual scoring record. Carroll came to Eau Claire from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he was a two-time NCAA national qualifier (2017, 2021) and a 2021 Scholar All-American. Carroll also served as a team captain from 2017-2021 and recorded a career record of 78-50. Carroll graduated from Augustana University with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and finished his master's in Sports Administration and Leadership in 2022.  The Sioux Falls native compiled a high school record of 134-12 and was a two-time South Dakota state champion.