Red Raider Wrestling
Head Coach

Rik Dahl
Head Coach

Rik Dahl is entering his 3rd season at the helm of Northwestern College's wrestling team. Dahl is the seventh coach since wrestling became a varsity sport at Northwestern in 1969. Dahl is a former All-American ('97) at Northwestern College and prior to coming to Northwestern he was the secondary principal and head wrestling coach at Big Sandy Schools in Simla, Colo. Prior to his administration duties at Big Sandy, Dahl coached and taught at Limon Public Schools in Limon, Colo. At Limon, Dahl coached 38 state qualifiers, 15 state placers, three finalists, and one state champion. During Dahl's tenure the program increased from 11 student athletes in 1998 to 28 student athletes in 2004 and finished sixth in the state wrestling meet as a team in 2004.

As a student at Northwestern College, Dahl was a wrestling All-American and team captain on the 1997 wrestling team that finished eighth at the NAIA Championships, the highest finish for a Northwestern squad. Dahl was a semi-finalists and took sixth place under coach Paul Bartlett.

Under Dahl's leadership, the Red Raiders have sent 16 wrestlers to the NAIA National Tournament and crowned four All-Americans. In addition, the 2009 Red Raider team was crowned the NAIA Champions of Character for their strong character and their impact in and around the Northwestern Community. In 2010, two of Dahl's wrestlers were recognized as an Academic All-Americans and the 2010 team had the 10th best GPA in the country at the NAIA level.

Dahl and his wife, Amy (Schmidt, ’93), have three sons and two daughters: Elijah (14), Joshua (13), Matthew (11), Abigail (9), and Grace (7).