Centerville, IA – Following his first season at the helm of the Indian Hills Women's Wrestling program that resulted in the program's fifth consecutive national title, head coach Darren Wynn has been named 2025 The OpenMat National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women's Coach of the Year.
Wynn took over the program as the first-ever women's head coach for the 2024-25 campaign. The former Indian Hills assistant spearheaded the program to a remarkable run at the 2025 NJCAA National Invitational in Council Bluffs as the Warriors claimed their third consecutive NJCAA title, and fifth national championship in a row.
Under Wynn's guidance, the Warriors boasted the second-most team points at a women's national championship with 294.5 points to run away with the title, 103 points ahead of second-place Iowa Western Community College. Along with the team title, the Warriors claimed three individual national champions, seven national finalists, and 16 All-Americans in total.
The three individual national champions were each in their first year competing at the collegiate level – Ariah Mervilus (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) at 110lbs, Nevaeh Hayden (Tulsa, OK/Union) at 180lbs, and Kennedi Johnson-Washington (Greenwood, SC/Greenwood) at 235lbs.
Along with the Warriors' triumphs at the national championship, Indian Hills earned the No. 1 ranking in the national polls throughout the duration of the year. The Warriors finished the 2024-25 campaign atop both the team dual and team tournament rankings via The OpenMat while claiming a 10-2 overall dual record on the year.
In addition to Wynn's national honor, Hayden swept the individual honors as both the 2025 The OpenMat NJCAA Women's Wrestler and Freshman of the Year, also annoucned Friday afternoon.
READ MORE: HAYDEN NAMED WRESTLER, FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
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