HOLLAND, Michigan — The families of wrestlers on West Ottawa's team say students are devastated after the school did not renew the contract for their wrestling coach.
Ryan Lancaster was let go this week after serving as West Ottawa's head wrestling coach for the last 7 years.
He has been coaching in the district since 2006, and was even a wrestler in the program himself when he was in school.
The school district says the decision to release him from the coaching contract was due to performance.
"The athletic department evaluates each head coach and program on an annual basis. This was strictly a performance-based decision, our athletic department will always put the needs of our student-athletes first," the school said in a statement.
A student wrestler started a Change.org petition to bring him back and says he has built an outstanding program for high school wrestling.
Lancaster launched the district's first girl's wrestling program and the youth wrestling program.
The petition claims Lancaster was let go for not winning enough, damaging the gym floor and anonymous letters.
Some of the wrestlers want to see the district reverse its decision.
"When I started wrestling, I wanted to quit after the first two weeks because I felt like a sore thumb. I'm a female wrestler. And at the time, women's wrestling was really unheard of. There were about three other girls in the program with 30 Guys, and I felt like it was too much and I tried to quit. Then he talked to me and convinced me to stay longer and it has been the best decision of my life," Kaitlynn Heck, a senior wrestler at Ottawa Hills High School said.
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