LEXINGTON, Ohio — UPDATED — One of these days, Brent Rastetter will get a chance to catch his breath.
It may not happen soon, though.
Free time has been at a premium for Rastetter, the longtime Lexington wrestling coach and middle school dean of students and athletics director. His hectic schedule won’t get any less chaotic when he steps down to become the head wrestling coach at Otterbein University in Westerville.
His last day at Lexington is Friday. He starts his new job Monday.
“This is kind of a dream job for me, but I thought I had aged myself out of an opportunity,” the 43-year-old Rastetter said. “It feels like a perfect fit. I’m fortunate to have received the offer.
“The biggest thing is I will be a full-time wrestling coach.”
Otterbein announced in late July it would add wrestling as its 21st varsity sports program beginning with the 2016-17 academic year. The school offered wrestling from 1961 to 1974 before scuttling the program.
“Otterbein’s decision to add varsity wrestling has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response,” Otterbein director of athletics Dawn Stewart said in a statement. “I am proud of this addition and now, more importantly, to hire Brent as the coach. He is a competitor who has put Lexington on the map.
“I’m excited for him to now be the face of our program and to provide our student-athletes with the same commitment and dedication that he has given to Lexington for so many years.”
Rastetter can’t wait to get started.
“This is an opportunity to build a program from the ground up,” Rastetter said. “The athletic director is phenomenal and she has a great vision. I consider myself very fortunate to get an opportunity like this.”
A 1990 Madison graduate, Rastetter began his coaching career when he was just 19. He spent one season as an assistant at Clear Fork before heading to Crestview in the early 1990s. He was Lexington’s junior high coach for one year and a varsity assistant for two seasons before taking over as varsity coach, a position he has held for the past 12 years.
Under Rastetter’s guidance, Lexington has become a Division II state powerhouse. The Minutemen qualified for the dual team tournament each of the three years the Ohio High School Athletic Association has sanctioned the event. Drew Kasper won a state title at 182 pounds last year, while Bailey Faust was runner-up at 195. Kasper was the fourth Lex wrestler to reach the top of the podium under Rastetter’s tutelage, joining Jake Faust (145 pounds, 2012) and Josh Lehner (195 pounds, 2012-2013). In all, Rastetter coached 27 state placers at Lexington.
“While we are emotional about losing our leader in the wrestling room, we are extremely excited for coach,” Lexington athletic director Joe Roberts said. “(We) know that he is going to be successful as he chases this dream.”
Rastetter broke the news to his wrestlers Monday.
“It was tough,” Rastetter said. “I told the kids I’ll still be around to offer support and help out any way I could.”
Rastetter’s first order of business is to hit the recruiting trail. Because Otterbein won’t begin wrestling until the 2016-17 school year, recruiting is his chief concern for the foreseeable future.
“I’ve been coaching for more than 20 years, so I’m going to lean on the relationships I’ve developed in the (Ohio high school) wrestling community,” Rastetter said. “We will occasionally venture out of state, but I believe we can build a good program by recruiting the state of Ohio very hard.”
Will the recruiting trail lead back to Lexington?
“I hope so,” Rastetter said. “I told our guys when I met with them that I hope we cross paths again.”
