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Cuddie steps down from DHS wrestling

Durango wrestling head coach Doug Cuddie coached 20 state qualifiers in five years, including Rudy Peterson. Cuddie said Tuesday he will step aside as DHS wrestling coach. “We still have these kids that I’ve coached the past couple years that I want to see have success,” he said. “I’m not going to hang them out to dry because I’m not at the high school.”

Another Durango High School varsity coach is moving on.

DHS wrestling coach Doug Cuddie has stepped down after five years in charge of the program, becoming the 10th coach since December 2011 to step down from a varsity post at DHS.

Cuddie said he is “not a good fit over at Durango High School anymore,” when reached by phone Tuesday.

“There’s been changes in the administration there recently; that’s probably the best way to say it,” Cuddie said. “I think it boils down to more or less me not having as many wins and not being as successful as we should be. That’s the way I look at it.”

In five years, Cuddie has coached 20 state qualifiers, including three this season, and several podium finishers, the most recent of which was Trevor Gillen, who finished third in 2012.

Cuddie also served as an assistant coach for the football team last season under former coach Greg Wyatt, who also resigned after last season.

Cuddie said he had no plans of stepping aside when the season began but added things change throughout the course of the season.

“If you would’ve asked me at the beginning of the wrestling season if I was going to step down, I would’ve said absolutely not,” he said. “But things change during the course of a season.

“We were used to winning much more than we were used to losing, for lack of a better term. To me, that’s what it boils down to. I can’t speak for anybody else. If we had won a regional championship this year, would we be on the same page as far as Durango High School and our coaching staff? No doubt about that.”

Durango School District 9-R press information officer Julie Popp and Durango High School athletic director Sheldon Keresey did not return phone calls, although Popp confirmed Keresey’s resignation later Tuesday to Durango Herald staff writer Chase Olivarius-McAllister.

Still, despite a seemingly bumpy relationship with members of the administration, Cuddie said he holds no grudges and instead just wants to make a clean break.

“No bitter feelings, no hard feelings at all, but we didn’t see eye to eye anymore, so it’s time to do something else. ... I’m not going to rant and rave, not going to be the thorn in the side and just move on.”

Wrestling, however, is in his blood. So don’t be surprised to see Cuddie pop up back in the world of wrestling in some capacity sooner rather than later.

“I really haven’t thought that far ahead, but I’ve been involved in wrestling for 32 years. It’s who I am,” he said. “No matter what I do in life, I’m always going to be a wrestler. ... We still have these kids that I’ve coached the past couple years that I want to see have success. I’m not going to hang them out to dry because I’m not at the high school.”

rowens@ durangoherald.com

Jun 15, 2013
Turnovers mount


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