NDSU Wrestling
Coaching Staff
Roger Kish
Head Coach
Roger Kish is in his first season as head coach of the North Dakota State wrestling team. He is the fourth head coach in the 54-year history of the Bison wrestling program. He spent two years as an assistant wrestling coach at NDSU prior to taking the head coaching position.
Kish joined the NDSU program after a successful wrestling career at the University of Minnesota. Kish was a graduate assistant for the Gophers in 2008-09. A Lapeer, Mich. native, he was a two-time All-American and two-time NCAA runner-up for the Gophers at 184 pounds.
He had a career record of 117-27 for the Gophers. As a sophomore, he went 35-7 en route to a Big Ten title and an NCAA runner-up finish. In his junior season, Kish was 37-3 and was the Big Ten and national runner-up. He was also a team captain.
Kish graduated from Minnesota in May 2008 with a bachelor's degree in business and marketing education.
He was also a two-time cadet national champion and also captured a USA Wrestling junior national title. At Lapeer West High School, he was a four-time Michigan state champion. Kish is the son of Roger and Brenda Kish.
Bret Maughan
Assistant Coach
Bret Maughan begins his 11th season as an assistant wrestling coach at North Dakota State. Maughan has had head coaching stints at Bismarck (N.D.) State College from 1993-1995 and Moorhead (Minn.) High School from 1995-2000 before moving to NDSU.
On the mat, Maughan was a three-year letterman and two-time Division II All-American at North Dakota State, placing second at 118 pounds in 1991 and third at 118 pounds in 1990. A native of Fargo, Maughan lettered six times in wrestling and was a four-time state champion at North High. He is a distinguished member of the North Dakota Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Fargo North Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Fargo North High School Hall of Fame.
Maughan earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and coaching from North Dakota State in 1992. He has two sons, Lukas and Yukon, and one daughter, Jaclyn.
Manny Rivera
Assistant Coach
Manny Rivera is in his first season as an assistant coach at North Dakota State.
Rivera joins the program after spending last year as an assistant coach at Virginia and two years as a graduate assistant at Minnesota. While at Virginia, he helped coach two All-America performers.
While a graduate assistant for the Gophers, he also served as the assistant director at the School of Champions, a wrestling training program for junior high and high school students. Additionally, he was a volunteer wrestling coach at Rosemead High School.
A native of El Monte, Calif., Rivera was a three-time NCAA qualifier at Minnesota and earned All-America honors as a senior after finishing seventh at 141 pounds at the NCAA Championships. He was also a starter on Minnesota's 2007 national championship team. He finished his career with a record of 113-40 and 27 pins and was team captain as a senior.
Rivera has continued wrestling after graduating and won a bronze medal at the 2010 Pan-American Games as a member of the Mexican national team.
He graduated from Minnesota in 2008 with a degree in psychology.
* Other NDSU wrestlers as available
