Iowa women’s wrestling has added Jenna Burkert as an assistant coach. She replaces Tonya Verbeek, who recently took a new position with USA Wrestling as a women’s freestyle assistant and resident coach
Burkert won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships. Burkert was a four-time World Team member, a nine-time Senior National Team member and three-time Junior National Team member. She was the runner-up at the 2021 Olympic Trials at 57 kilograms.
Her final competition as an athlete was the 2022 World Cup in Coralville.
Burkert has coached and taught at Bixby (Oklahoma) High School since 2024. She joined the program as associate head coach before being elevated to the top chair. Bixby was the No. 2 ranked team in the nation and Burkert coached six individual state champions.
Burkert was a non-commissioned officer and soldier-athlete in the United States Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) in Colorado from January 2015 to August 2024. The Rocky Point, New York, native achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant in 2022.
The UI sports information department contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa women’s wrestling hires Jenna Burkert as assistant coach
Reporting by Hawk Central report, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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