Grand View women's wrestling program adds Alli Ragan, a two-time world silver medalist, to coaching staff

Alli Ragan is coming back to Iowa.

Ragan, a two-time world medalist for USA Wrestling women's freestyle team, has joined the Grand View women's wrestling coach staff. She'll be a graduate assistant, joining head coach Angelo Crinzi and assistant coach Arelys Valles.

The Grand View program announced the addition on Tuesday, the latest development in what's been a banner first couple of years for the program.

This past season, four Grand View wrestlers earned All-American honors as the NAIA women's national championships in North Dakota. The Lady Vikings ultimately finished inside the top-10 in the team race, too.

Even more, Grand View women's wrestling was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally in the NAIA women's wrestling team poll this season, and even had one wrestler, Alexis Gomez, ranked No. 1 individually at her weight. The Lady Vikings also won the Heart of America Conference team title, with five individual champs.

Now, Crinzi is adding one of the most decorated women's wrestlers in recent USA Wrestling history to the team as a coach.

Ragan won a silver medal at both the 2016 and 2017 world championships. She is a six-time Senior-level world team member, as well as a two-time age-level world medalist, a three-time U.S. Open champion and University World Games finalist in 2013. She was also a four-time collegiate national finalist and two-time champion for King University.

The Illinois native was a member of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, along with Kayla Miracle, Forrest Molinari, Michaela Beck and Lauren Louive. She left in 2020, along with Miracle, Molinari and Beck, to follow Mark Perry down to Arizona State. Perry coached the HWC from 2017-20 and is now a coach with the Sun Devils and Sunkist Kids.

After the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Fort Worth, Texas, Ragan quietly retired from competition, and is now entering the coaching ranks. In addition to her Grand View duties, she will also help coach at the North Liberty-based Big Game Wrestling Club.

Alli Ragan is back in Iowa, and because of it, Iowa women's and girls' wrestling just got a lot better.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.