The Vacaville Wrestling Program began in 1961 under the leadership of then athletic director Tom Zunino and its first head coach Larry Nelson.  Coach Nelson, a Big-10 Champion for the University of Michigan, led the program for thirty years, establishing the program as the standard in Sac Joaquin Section Wrestling.  In 1994, Coach "Nel" turned the program over to his son Dave, a World Greco bronze medalist, who guided the program until his passing in 2000.  Picking up the reigns from there was Rich Penaluna, whose vision led the program to compete on  a national stage.  In 2006, Adam Wight and Clint Birch became the program's first Co-Head coaches, and in 2007 the Bulldogs captured their first CIF State Champpionship.  In 2005, USA Wrestling named Vacaville High School in its list of the top 100 high school programs in the nation. 

The Vacaville Wrestling Program consists of 3 levels. Each one of these levels is a part of the program and is vital to our overall success.

The Vacaville Wrestling Club provides youth wrestlers an early introduction to the sport of wrestling.  "The Club" offers wrestling instruction for youths up to the 6th grade.  Once in 7th grade, the wrestler then has the opportunity to compete for Willis Jepson Middle School.  Jepson Wrestling gives the young wrestlers their first chance to compete on a competive school team.  Click on the links below for more information.

VACAVILLE WRESTLING CLUB--Learn more about the Wrestling Club, for youths who are looking for an introduction to the sport. 

WILLIS JEPSON MIDDLE SCHOOL--Learn more about Willis Jepson Middle School.

This early introduction to the sport, combined with excellent coaching at the high school level has produced great success for Vacaville High School.  The high school team fields a schedule for three levels- Frosh/Soph, a second level Varsity, and the true first-man varsity.  The program holds the records for the most Masters Championship titles in the Sac Joaquin Section.  Click on the links below to learn more about the High School program.

COACHING STAFF

PARENT LETTER--Parents, please take time to read this letter.  In it, we explain our philosophy and expectations for you and your athlete.  You will need Microsoft Word on your computer to view the file.

Vacaville competes in the Monticello Empire League of Solano County, the CIF Division 1 North, and the Sac Joaquin Section.  The Sac Joaquin Section is arguable one of the toughest wrestling sections in the state of California, and has close to 180 high schools (the size of some small states). 

CONTACT

      SCHOOL PHONE 707-453-6065

      E-MAIL COACH ADAM WIGHT AT AdamW@vacavilleusd.org