‘This is big time’: Former Olympic bronze medalist Tervel Dlagnev finds his fit on Manning’s staff at NU | Wrestling

Tervel Dlagnev always knew he wanted to come back to Nebraska.

After the former Olympic bronze medalist retired from competition in 2016, he was at a crossroads. But drawing from connections through his wrestling, Dlagnev was able to come aboard Tom Ryan’s coaching staff at Ohio State and continue his coaching at the Ohio Regional Training Center in Columbus.

He stuck with what was familiar — Dlagnev trained there from 2009 to 2016 when he was training for the Olympics.

“It was great, I really liked it,” Dlagnev said about his time in Ohio. “I spent 12 years there, five coaching, so it was awesome. The coaching staff was great and I loved the atmosphere, so it was really a good environment to grow and learn.”

It was quite a learning process for Dlagnev, who stepped into the coaching world right after retiring from competition, allowing him to have a unique perspective right from the start.

“I think a big one (lesson) was how to operate as an assistant and how to find where you’re effective,” said Dlagnev, who is in his first season as a volunteer assistant at Nebraska. “I mean, there’s a lot that goes into performance, and so I think the fact that I was an athlete not that long ago, it’s still sometimes we coaches forget.”

But even as Dlagnev continued to learn and grow as a coach, he always knew his dream spot would be back at Nebraska — a place where he won two national championships at Nebraska-Kearney.

It was during the pandemic that Dlagnev’s move back to Nebraska gained some momentum. Once the pandemic hit, Dlagnev, his wife and kids came back to the Cornhusker State to spend more time with family and he soon realized that it’s where they needed to be.

So Dlagnev decided to reach out to NU.

“My wife and I were thinking, ‘Man, this is cool, having family together,'” Dlagnev said. “So that’s when I jokingly reached out to (assistant coach) Bryan Snyder and was like, ‘Hey, just let me know if you guys want to find me a job.'”

Luckily for him, the Huskers did, and before entering his last season as a coach at Ohio State, Dlagnev had a spot at Nebraska for the 2021-22 season.

Along with coach Mark Manning, Snyder and assistant Robert Kokesh, Dlagnev has fit right in.

“It was definitely just hit the ground running and I just got right into it,” Dlagnev said. “The staff is great and all the wrestlers, we’ve been around each other and you have mutual respect for each other. So the integration process happens fast and just building relationships.”

And with No. 2 Iowa looming this week for the No. 10 Huskers, it will be Dlagnev’s first time to be a part of the rivalry.

“This is big-time, so I’m really excited,” he said.

Sunday’s match begins at 6 p.m. at the Devaney Sports Center.

* Iowa has dominated the rivalry as of late, winning the past 12 duals. The Hawkeyes haven’t lost to Nebraska since 2006.

* The Hawkeyes bring one of the fiercest and most veteran lineups in the country, with seven wrestlers ranked inside the top 10, including six inside the top five.

* Sunday’s dual will have potential for fireworks, with four of the 10 bouts featuring top-10 matchups, including 141, 149, 174 and 197 pounds.