Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser announced associate head coach Mike Zadick won’t be with the team moving forward. The announcement was made in a release on Thursday.

“I’ve decided to go in a different direction with our coaching staff as we continue to re-build the Iowa State program,” Dresser said in the release. “There isn’t a better guy to teach wrestling technique than Mike, but we had some significant differences of opinion and it is best that we part ways.

“Mike was given the opportunity to run our practice room and have substantial input on all elements of the program. At the end of the day, however, I’m the leader of this program and our staff has to be aligned and unified.”

Zadick arrived in Ames with Dresser, and he previously worked with Dresser at Virginia Tech.

Currently, Derek St. John and Brent Metcalf will adopt Zadick’s duties while Iowa State searches for a replacement. 

With an opening, the void will likely be filled with a coach that has a background coaching upper weight athletes.

“What’s exciting for us going forward is that we’ve got multiple coaches in our wrestling room with championship backgrounds and a commitment to the Cyclone program,” Dresser said in the release. “Derek and I have worked side-by-side for three years and his rapid development as a teacher and developer of young men has impressed me. Brent is one of the most-decorated competitors in recent times.”

Dresser also called Metcalf a “rising star as a coach” and talked about getting him more involved.