Girls High School Coaching Staff
Head Coach
Brian Nicola
Coach Nicola enters his 24th year coaching, 21st at the high school level. He was named NWCA National Coach of the Year, as well as CDCWA and state Coach of the Year and has received other awards throughout his career. Previous stops include as head coach at West (2001-2006), Bishop Ready (2006-2008) and here at Orange (2008-2015). He has been with the girls team since 2019. Nicola wrestled in high school at St. Thomas Aquinas and collegiately at the University of Dayton. A journalism teacher at Orange, Nicola is married to Michelle and has two sons, Jason and Jacob.
Assistant Coach
Vanessa Oswalt
Coach Oswalt enters her 8th year coaching at the high school level. She was named CDWCA and state Coach of the Year in 2023, and then received Section 2 honors. Oswalt is a household name in Ohio when it comes to girls wrestling, having won Junior Nationals as a senior in 2005, followed by a stint at the Olympic Training Center that included two Olympic Trials and a national team ranking. Upon her competitive retirement, she coached at her alma mater Mt. Vernon from 2017-2019, then helped start the girls program at Orange. She is a Master Sergeant with the Ohio Air National Guard.
Assistant Coach
Patrick Daugherty
Coach Daugherty...or PD, as he's affectionately known...has been part of the girls program at Orange since its inception. He was a three sport athlete at Big Walnut, competing in football, wrestling and track. A member of the 2007 State Championship football team, Coach Daugherty followed up his high school career playing football at Otterbein. In addition to coaching girls wrestling, he works the sidelines in the fall as a running backs coach football and in the spring as a track coach, working with sprinters. Coach D teached Science at Orange.
Assistant Coach
Jack Garren
Coach Garren enters his 5th year as a member of the girls staff, but his coaching career spans over two decades at youth, middle school and high school. A graduate of Marion Franklin High School, he starred in football and basketball, but often found his way to HOF coach Lenny Ball's wrestling room, where got his first taste of the sport. Known for his detail-oriented approach to the sport and positioning, he began coaching wrestling with his oldest son, Patrik, at Indian Mound and spent years with Hamilton Township before coming to Orange in 2020. Garren is employed as an environmental scientist across Ohio. He and his wife, Laura, have four children (all wrestlers or coaches): Patrik, Bailey, Connor and Kascidy.
Assistant Coach
Dom DiSabato
Coach DiSabato joined the girls staff last season and made an immediate impact with the program, running workouts and helping hone the lightweights. He was a 3x state champion for Bishop Ready HS, and followed that up as an NCAA Qualifier at Ohio State University. DiSabato's coaching career lasted over two decades, with his Davidson Wildcats winning seven OCC titles and one district title, posting two top-seven state finishes with 24 state placers (two state champions). He was the OHSWCA Girls State Tournament Director from 2020-2022 and a key figure in the sanctioning of girls wrestling with OHSAA. Coach DiSabato is a physical education and health teacher at Hilliard Davidson. He is married to Nikki and they have three children: Angelo, Gio and Mia.
Assistant Coach
Anna Grabau
Coach Grabau enters her second year coaching having joined the staff in 2023-24. She was a member of the inaugural girls team at Orange, finishing 3rd in the state at 143 lbs and captaining the team as a senior. In high school, she was a track and field state qualifier in discus, a three year starter in basketball and a member of the renowned Marching Pioneers. Grabau works with the middle and upper weights, and always has one eye on team score calculations. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University and works as a Data Analyst for Infoverity. Grabau also interned with Wrestle Like a Girl during college.
Assistant Coach
Patrik Garren
Coach "Patch" has been part of the girls program for four years, sometimes commuting hours for workouts. He recently accepted a college coaching job, working RTC coac He has wrestled since youth, winning a state title at Bishop Ready High School at 285 lbs. He also placed two other times for the Silver Knights. Garren followed it up by attending school and wrestling for the University of Pennsylvania, a D1 Ivy League program. During his career, he saw action at both 197 lbs and 285 lbs for the Quakers. He has had the opportunity to work with each of his siblings on the mat, as well as countless other girls and boys across Central Ohio. Garren works in hospital administration.
Assistant Coach
Cierra Foster
Coach Foster joined the girls coaching staff as an assistant coach for the 2023-24 season. In high school, she earned the Tricia Saunders Award, given to the top female wrestler in the country. This was awarded for both wrestling results and service to her community. At Oklahoma City University, she was a 3x NAIA All-American during her college career, competing between 143 and 155 lbs. In 2023, while competing on the USA Wrestling national circuit at 62 kg, Foster went 3-2 at the US Open. She is currently working on her doctorate degree in chemistry at The Ohio State University. Over the last five years, she has also helped coach Team Idaho at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, ND.
Assistant Coach
Jaysen Knick
Coach Knick begins his first year as an assistant coach for the Pioneers, having previously served as the girls assistant coach at Northmont High School. He has 24 years of experience coaching the sport, including stints with Northmont, Greenville and a variety of successful youth programs. Knick has three daughters (including Orange wrestler Lacie) and a son (Drew, who wrestles at Findlay)
Assistant Coach
Edward Ndinga Mbappe'
​Coach Mbappe' has coached on and off since his military service ennded