Mount Pleasant football coach Shawn Striegel steps down after 10 years
MOUNT PLEASANT — It wasn't the ending Shawn Striegel was hoping for.
Striegel took over the Mount Pleasant High School football team in 2013, a program rich in history and tradition.
Striegel, who previously served as an assistant coach for the Panthers from 2005-12, had his fair share of ups and downs over the last decade.
But the Panthers struggled to an 0-9 record this season, and with personal issues mounting, Striegel decided it was time to step away.
Striegel tendered his official resignation to Activities Director Scot Lamm on Tuesday, and the search is on for the next head coach.
It wasn't the way Striegel wanted it to end, but he said he will always be a Panther, no matter what.
"I just have a lot of personal things going on right now in my life. I just needed to step away for a bit and take a different perspective on life," Striegel said Wednesday afternoon. "I'm still a Panther through and through and I still want to help the Panthers in another capacity. I will still coach the throwers in track and field. That is a little less stressful. But I just need to step away for a bit and get some personal things in my life straightened out."
Mount Pleasant will enter next season with a 14-game losing streak overall and a 10-game losing skid in district play.
New classifications and districts will be announced by the Iowa High School Athletic Association in early 2023 for the next two seasons.
Striegel, who previously coached at Tri-County before coming to Mount Pleasant, compiled a 30-59 record in his 10 seasons at Mount Pleasant, including the bizarre COVID-19 season in 2020 in which he led the Panthers to a 4-4 record.
"Every school has its ups and downs, its cycles, its ebbs and flows," Striegel said. "I still believe in next year's team. Just a couple things needed to be done."
Striegel said his staff, which includes Michael Beason, Tyler Kibbee, Nick Maynard, Tyler Rodgers, Jacob Rohde, Rocco Russo and Scott Stribe, has been loyal throughout.
"It's a great staff," Striegel said. "We worked well together. They are a very knowledgeable group."
Striegel has coached numerous players who have gone on to play at the college level and beyond. Former lineman Henry Lutovsky is a sophomore who is seeing playing time at Nebraska, while Leonard Wester played five years in the National Football League as an offensive lineman.
I have been very blessed to have some great kids to work with here through the years. We have had many players go on to the next level and do some great things. We have several players this year who will go on to do great things," Striegel said. "At the 4A level there are a lot of things to do and you have to be able to give 100 percent of yourself to do that, whether that being working with the kids or being in the weight room. I just can't do that right now, so it's time for me to step back and let somebody else give it a try."
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA Today Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 32 years at The Hawk Eye. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Mount Pleasant High School football coach Shawn Striegel steps down
