DEFIANCE – Ralph Cubberly, who recently resigned as Eastwood’s wrestling coach after 20 years to take a
teaching and coaching position at Urbana High School, is on the move again.
Cubberly was hired Wednesday evening as the head wrestling coach at Defiance High School.
"I always knew that Defiance had great wrestling tradition and overall the athletic programs at the
school are excellent. I looked at coming to Defiance to teach and coach as a great opportunity to build
on the success of the program," Cubberly told the Defiance Crescent-News. "When I was at
Eastwood, we competed against Defiance and the kids were always well-coached and always tough. The kids
at Eastwood always knew they were in for a tough match when they wrestled someone from Defiance.
"Like every coach at Defiance, our first goal will be to compete for a Western Buckeye League title,
but the ultimate goal is state," continued Cubberly. "I’m a firm believer that if you set your
goals high, like competing for a state championship, winning WBL titles will follow. The ultimate goal
is to win a Division II state team title."
At Defiance, Cubberly replaces Josh Neilson, who was 45-38 in three years as head coach. Neilson resigned
to continue hid education.
At Eastwood, Cubberly compiled a 304-95 dual meet record and led the Eagles to five Suburban Lakes League
championships, eight sectional championships and four district championships. Also during his tenure,
Cubberly coached 57 state qualifiers and 27 state placers, including five runner-up finishers and four
state champions. He was named the Division II wrestling coach of the year in Ohio in 2005.
"This is a great hire for Defiance High School. Ralph is one of the best wrestling coaches in the
state of Ohio," Defiance High School athletics director Jerry Buti told the Crescent-News.
"His team at Eastwood is the last team in Ohio to beat St. Paris Graham and his resume speaks for
itself.
"He’s very excited to come to Defiance and we’re looking forward to him developing the
program," continued Buti. "After we learned there was going to be an opening, we looked
in-house to see if anyone was interested in the position. After no one wanted it, we posted it on the
Internet and Ralph applied. We’re very excited to be getting a coach of his caliber here at Defiance
High School."
Cubberly will work as a high school intervention specialist at Defiance High School
"This is a great opportunity for me to teach and coach and the whole situation has really worked out
perfectly for me and my family," Cubberly told the newspaper. "The administration at Defiance
is filled with top-notch people and I’m looking forward to working with them and the kids at Defiance
High School."