United States Military Academy Men's Wrestling

Ward Kevin Ward is entering his third season as the head coach for the Army West Point wrestling program. Through his first two years, Ward has led Army to a 6-13 record and has coached nine wrestlers to the NCAA championships. Ward has also improved the Black Knights in many ways in that time, most notably defeating Navy in his first season to snap a 17-year winless drought. He also took the Cadets from 33rd to 10th at the Southern Scuffle, a program-best 14th-place finish at the Las Vegas Cliff Keen Invitational and the first All-Academies Championship in eight years. In his first season at West Point, Ward led Army to a 3-6 record and sent four wrestlers to the NCAA championships. Russell Parsons Jr. (157), Cole Gracey (164), Brian Harvey (175) and Bryce Barnes (197) all represented the Academy in St. Louis, Mo. Both Parsons and Barnes placed fifth at the EIWA championships in Wards first year at the helm. Last season, Army posted a 3-7 record overall and placed fourth at the EIWA championships, the teams highest finish at the tournament since the 2006-07 season. Ward led five Black Knights to the NCAA championships, the most for the program since 2008. Logan Everett (141), Parsons Jr. (157), Harvey (174), Samson Imonode (184) and Barnes (197) all represented the Academy at Madison Square Garden. Both Barnes and Harvey competed to second-place finishes at the EIWA championships.  Ward, who turned a wrestling program built from scratch at Ouachita Baptist University into a national contender, was named Armys 10th head wrestling coach on Aug. 1, 2014. As the first head coach of Ouachita Baptists wrestling program, Ward led the Tigers to top-15 finishes at the NCAA Tournament in each of the programs first three seasons. Ward coached 10 All-Americans and two NCAA finalists, Dallas Smith and Josh Myers, during his time at Ouachita. Ward was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year after guiding the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at the NCAAs and an 8-5 dual match record last season. Five of Wards wrestlers claimed All-America honors in 2014, including Myers, who was the national runner-up at the 141-pound weight class. After the programs inaugural 2010-11 campaign, Ward coached three All-Americans and steered the Tigers to a 15th-place showing at the NCAA Tournament the following season. The program took another step forward during the 2012-13 season with its first-ever national runner-up in Smith, while the team placed 12th overall at the NCAAs. Ward was also a major factor in fundraising for the wrestling squad. He helped raise more than $300,000 in donations to the up-and-coming program during his four-year stint. Over his first two months at Ouachita, Ward led the renovation effort of the teams weight room, which hadnt been updated in nearly 30 years. An accomplished wrestler at Oklahoma State, Ward started his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Cowboys during the 2006-07 season, while earning his masters degree in health and human performance. He assisted legendary head coach John Smith with drill sessions and preparing the team for competitions, as well as coaching at open tournaments. Oklahoma State posted a 14-5 overall record and took third place at the Big 12 Championships with Ward on staff. The Cowboys placed fifth at the NCAA Championships and had four All-Americans, including two national runner-ups, Coleman Scott and Johny Hendricks. As a member of one of the most storied programs in the country, Ward had a tremendous amount of success as a wrestler at Oklahoma State. Ward was on four NCAA National Championship teams (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006) and two undefeated squads (2002-03 and 2004-05). In 2005, Ward beat three opponents in a row to grab the Big 12 title at the 157-pound weight class. He won 12 of his first 14 matches that season and posted a 23-12 record overall. Ward returned to the conference championship the following season, earning a runner-up finish. Ward qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice and was a three-time National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Academic All-American. The Cowboys won four Big 12 championships in a row during Wards time in Stillwater. He graduated with a bachelors degree in sociology. Along with his coaching duties over the years, Ward has served on the NWCA Executive Committee and Board of Directors, as well as handling the role of Vice President-elect of the Division II Coaches Association. Ward and his wife Hannah, along with their son Holt, reside at West Point.

Chionuma enters his second season as an assistant coach at Army West Point in 2016-17.   Chionuma arrived at Army West Point after serving as head coach for a year at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., prior to the 2015-16 season. He also worked alongside Ward during the 2013-14 season as a graduate assistant for the Ouachita Baptist wrestling program.   In his first season at Army, Chionuma worked primarily with the heavier weight classes (165 pounds and up). Included in that group are three NCAA qualifiers: Brian Harvey (174), Samson Imonode (184) and Bryce Barnes (197). Harvey and Barnes each finished as runner-ups in their respective weight classes while Imonode placed fifth. He also worked with Andrew Mendel (165) who placed fifth at the tournament. During the 2014-15 season, Chionuma led Ouachita Baptist to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships. He also mentored four All-Americans a season ago, including national champion at 184 pounds, Dallas Smith.   As a graduate assistant coach in 2013-14, Chionuma contributed to a wrestling team produced a program-record five All-Americans, while helping the Tigers finish fourth nationally.   Chionuma enjoyed a successful collegiate wrestling career that included three separate NAIA All-America honors while wrestling at Lindenwood University. He also earned an individual national title at Lindenwood in 2011.   Chionuma transferred to Oklahoma State following the 2010-11 season, eventually earning a Big 12 championship at 184 pounds in 2012-13. He was a national qualifier on the Oklahoma State team that placed second at the 2013 NCAA Championships.   Chionuma earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Oklahoma State in 2012.