SECTION 4 WRESTLING: NEW ERA FOR HORSEHEADS WRESTLING AS THEY OPEN NEW SEASON WITH NEW COACH (24 PHOTOS) (November 17, 2025)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
HORSEHEADS — There is a coaching change at Horseheads wrestling this year, but the reality is things aren’t changing much at all.

While Brett Owen stepped away from coaching to spend more time with family, his longtime assistant Troy Monks took over. 

Monks, a long-time coach at Elmira, and a 1990 National Collegiate champion at Cortland, worked as an assistant with Owen since day one at Horseheads. He’s also in the Section IV and state wrestling Hall of Fames. 

“We are pretty stoked, pretty excited,” Monks said. “It’s not a lot different. Brett and I shared duties, just now I’m doing everything outside (of wrestling), where Brett used to take care of that stuff. Now that practices have started and the scheduling and all that stuff is done, it’s no different.”

The coaching staff also includes John Robyck, a former sectional champion and state qualifier for Elmira, who currently wrestles for Elmira College. And, the team has some volunteer assistants, which will likely include Owen.

“It’s huge, Johnny is coming back, he’s wrestling at Elmira, he’s going to be here as much as possible,” Monks said. “(Chris) Kamas has coached for us last year at the modified level and coached with me back at Elmira. So, we work very well together and we have others. Brett is going to come in, probably next week.”

The team Monks takes over is also one with a lot of experienced wrestlers.

“What’s really nice is a lot of them have been coming in open mats so all this stuff that’s new that I’m doing right now, they know how to do it,” Monks said. “It’s just football players and a couple of the freshmen, we’ve got to catch up and it’s going really smoothly right now.”

The football players are a bit behind with their season just ending on Friday. 

“Bitter sweet,” Monks said. “I would love to have the football team play another week, but I love having my kids back in the room too.

“Last year when we wrestled at the Stephens, football players were there, but they were beat up, they were sore, they were out of shape, some of them weren’t healed up 100%. For the most part all of them are pretty solid. Jaxson (Burchard) has been beat up a little bit, but I think he’s going to be just fine.”

For Monks it’s exciting to see the wrestling season starting.

“I haven’t slept for the last four days,” he said. “I wake up and it goes right to wrestling. Middle of the night, in the morning it goes right to wrestling. And, I love hunting, and I try and go out there and focus on the hunting and it hasn’t been happening it goes right to this.”

The Blue Raiders accomplished a lot last year, having their best finish at state duals, and finishing with three state medalists. For Monks he’s hoping for even more this year.

“There (the kids) goal is to do better than that,” Monks said. “They are expecting to do better than that. To beat St. Francis and to beat Minisink Valley that will be tough, because we are in a different situation than they are. But, I would love to get back into the semis again and be in the top six, and I think we can do better than that.

“They are just stepping in, we aren’t rebuilding after graduating 11, it’s just next man up.”
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PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES

PHOTO GALLERY FROM PRACTICE:

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