Troy Woosley, who coached six Philomath High School wrestlers to eight individual state titles and made the Warriors a regular top-10 contender at the state meet, resigned this fall as head coach after 20 seasons.
James Kohn, a Woosley assistant since 2016 and a member of Philomath’s 1994 state championship team, was named his successor.
Woosley said he had planned to coach one more season before retiring in part to help rebuild a roster that lost several standouts to graduation.
“For me and my family, this is probably the best thing I could have done,” Woosley said last weekend after returning from a hunting trip. “It hurts, because I gave everything — you have to as a coach. You’ve got to be all in, and I just didn’t feel like I could be all in.”
Woosley’s coaching career goes back more than three decades. He said he coached three seasons at Alsea in the 1980s, then returned to the Wolverines from 1991 to 2001. In 2002, he helped start the Philomath Mat Club with Jim Stouder before joining the high school staff as an assistant in 2005 under Edward Trudell. He became head coach in 2007.
“We had some pretty good kids and they did really well in the regular season but could never do anything in the state meet,” Woosley said about those first few years with the program. “So we changed the culture, we got a lot better on our feet. Takedowns — that’s what wins, especially in close matches. That’s what we practiced all the time.”
The results followed. Matt Hill won the 160-pound state title as a junior in 2007, the first of Woosley’s state champions. Strong senior classes in 2008, 2010 and 2012 helped draw more kids into the sport, Woosley said.
The program hit another peak in 2021 when Ben Hernandez (113 pounds), Blaise Pindell (170) and Connar Kohn (220) all won state titles. Riley Barrett then won three straight state championships at 150 pounds from 2024 to 2026, and Lake Mulberry won at 190 in 2025.
Woosley said the Warriors have finished among the top four to seven teams at state just about every year since 2020.
Asked what he’s proudest of, Woosley pointed to the relationships rather than the results.
“I strived to make a culture that went beyond wrestling,” he said. “I still have wrestlers that contact me all the time, call me, visit me.”
He hopes those former wrestlers carry the sport’s mental lessons with them.
“Everyone thinks it’s physical, but it’s mental,” Woosley said. “There’s no challenge out there too big for a true wrestler’s mind.”
Woosley said he might help out with the Mat Club but otherwise plans to step back.
“Obviously, I’m going to be following everything, but I’m going to be a really good husband and grandpa,” he said. “And we will definitely find out how the Alsea is for steelhead fishing this winter.”
Blake Woosley, Troy’s son who served as an assistant coach, has also stepped away from the program.
Kohn steps up
Kohn, 49, has lived in Philomath his whole life. His wife works at the high school, and all of his children went through Philomath schools. He wrestled all four years of high school and was part of the 1994 team that won the program’s only state championship.
He started coaching when his oldest son was in third grade, about 19 years ago, and also spent eight years with the Philomath football program before choosing to focus on wrestling.
Kohn said he had been contemplating retirement from coaching himself but wanted to see the program continue.
“I thought, if somebody better comes along, great,” he said. “But if not, I’ll do it and give it a shot.”
Kohn describes his coaching style as old school.
“A little blood, a little sweat, a little tears makes a team pull together,” he said. “But when it’s time to have fun, I’m there. You have to earn it, though. You earn what you get. I don’t just give it to you.”
His sons know about earning it. Connar, the 2021 state champion, and his older brother, Taylor, both have their names on the wall of state placers in the PHS wrestling room. Their younger brother, Derrick, joined them just last season after placing at state as a senior.
Kohn inherits a young boys team. He expects 10 to 12 boys to turn out, with only three varsity returners.
The girls’ side is growing. Kohn expects 10 to 12 girls, led by sophomore Makinzey Harrington, who placed sixth at 135 pounds as a freshman last season to become the program’s first girls state placer. Freshman Olivia Hernandez, who has competed in national and international meets in recent years, is also joining the program.
“I’m expecting big things from her,” Kohn said. “I’m hoping she’ll be a leader for some of our younger girls or newer girls and help show them what hard work and dedication can do.”
For now, Kohn will coach both the boys and girls teams. A candidate for a separate girls coaching position had accepted the job, Kohn said, but the hire fell through. Kohn is looking for assistants and said he is willing to help interested candidates get their coaching credentials.
The team is holding open mats from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The first official practice is Nov. 16.
