USA Wrestling Adds Katie Kriebel to Staff

USA Wrestling has named Katie Kriebel to the new position of manager of athlete career transition and women’s inclusion. She will work in USA Wrestling’s national teams department.

Kriebel has served as USA Wrestling’s assistant national women’s coach since April 2022 as part of USA Wrestling’s professional coaching staff. In her new role, Kriebel will serve as the national team athletes’ liaison on athlete career transition and professional growth and will also serve as the point person for USA Wrestling for collegiate women’s wrestling at the NCAA Division I level.

“This newly created position provides an additional level of support that we have intentionally targeted as a need for our national team athletes and they in turn have been asking for,” said Cody Bickley, USA Wrestling director of national team high performance. “In addition, with the recent announcement of women now having an NCAA-sponsored championship it’s a perfect storm of an exciting time that lies ahead for many in our sport.”

Kriebel will collaborate with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to help provide and educate USA Wrestling National Team athletes with the resources and tools available to them. She will also manage USA Wrestling budgeted resources available to national team athletes in regard to professional growth opportunities.

“I am excited about this new position,” said Kriebel. “USA Wrestling is making it a specific job to meet those needs. I am excited to be a point person with those on the ground in the NCAA wrestling community. I am also excited to be a point person with our athletes and the resources available to them, to work with them as whole human beings as they transition out of their competitive career and into whatever is next for them.”

The United States women had a historic performance at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris with a record four medalists, including gold medals from Sarah Hildebrandt and Amit Elor. Kriebel served as coach for the 2024 U.S. U23 World Team, which won the U23 World team title for the first time, claiming five medals.

Kriebel, who competed under her maiden name Downing, won world bronze medals for Team USA in 2005 and 2007. She was a five-time World Team Trials champion and three-time U.S. Open champion. She attended the University of Minnesota-Morris, which was the first college to sponsor a varsity women’s wrestling program.

Prior to joining USA Wrestling, Kriebel was an assistant coach for the women’s wrestling team at Oklahoma City University from 2011-12 and an assistant coach at Pendleton Heights High School in Indiana from 2013-2022, first coaching the boys team, then a co-ed team and their girls team.

“It took me a week into wrestling in 1994 before I was hooked for life,” said Kriebel. “As an athlete, all I wanted to do was wrestle and to be involved throughout my life. I was able to get into coaching,and it was an amazing journey being a coach.”