Columbus Clippers broadcaster Ryan Mitchell resigns as Grove City wrestling coach
After leading the Grove City wrestling team to three consecutive OCC-Ohio Division titles, Ryan Mitchell has stepped down as coach.
He informed athletic director Scott Todd last Tuesday and told his wrestlers Monday. He held the position for four seasons.
Mitchell is the Columbus Clippers’ director of broadcasting and a radio announcer for the team. He's in his 15th season with the club and 22nd overall in professional baseball as a broadcaster.
In 2022, the Triple-A season increased by six games to 150.
“I love working with the kids and I love coaching, but there just comes a time when you have to make what’s the best decision for your family,” Mitchell said. “A head coach puts in innumerable hours behind the scenes outside of practice, planning for practice. You don’t have a social media person. You’re the social media person. You’re the record keeper and that’s time you don’t have with the family.”
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Grove City had three Division I state qualifiers, all seniors, this winter. Slade Waller finished sixth at 132 pounds, Isaac Carter went 1-2 at 215 and Andrew Palmer was 0-2 at 165.
The Greyhounds finished seventh (74) at district behind champion Dublin Coffman (236.5).
“Qualifying three wrestlers for the state tournament and having Slade place sixth was outstanding,” Mitchell said. “The last three years have been the highest district finishes for Grove City in the past 20 years. It’s been a good run. I hope that we have elevated the standard of competitiveness for the program, and they’ll continue that with whoever takes over as coach.”
Mitchell, 47, had coached wrestling at the youth and middle school levels in South-Western City Schools before succeeding Jay DiMasso prior to the 2019-20 season.
“Ryan has done a great job building the Grove City wrestling team into one of the top programs in central Ohio,” Todd said. “He has laid the foundation needed to sustain long-term success and his leadership will be difficult to replace.”
Mitchell also has served as an assistant coach at Elmore Woodmore, from which he graduated in 1994, and Hunting Valley University School.
“I plan on following (Grove City) very closely,” Mitchell said. “When they hire a new coach, I plan to reach out to him and try to help with the transition and make sure they know where all the things are stored and keep the program moving in the right direction.”
Mitchell previously was the pregame and postgame host and provided intermission reports for the Blue Jackets radio network for three years, stepping down from that position in summer 2019.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Clippers broadcaster resigns as high school wrestling coach
