COACHING EXPERIENCE
• Associate Head Coach, Cornell University (2024-present)
• Assistant Coach, Cornell University (2021-24)
• Assistant Coach, University of Michigan (2014-21)
WRESTLING ACCOLADES
• 134-12 Career Record
• NCAA Champion (2x)
• NCAA All-American (4x)
• Big Ten Champion (4x)
• Male Athlete of The Year (2x)
EDUCATION
• B.S., Physical Education, University of Michigan (2012)
AT CORNELL
Two-time NCAA champion Kellen Russell joined the Cornell staff as an assistant coach in July 2021 after spending the previous seven season on staff at his alma mater, Michigan. He was promoted to associate head coach in April 2024. In four seasons, Russell has helped the Big Red to four straight Ivy League and three EIWA team titles, has assisted in the development of four national champions, 13 All-Americans and 12 EIWA champs. In the 2025 season, Russell assisted the Big Red in their first Ivy League Tournament Title with five Ivy champions and 10 NCAA qualifiers for the second consecutive season earning Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Cornell has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships four times, including second in 2024 and third in 2023.
PRIOR TO CORNELL
Russell spent seven seasons on staff at Michigan (2014-21) as an assistant coach on some powerful Big Ten teams. In his time on the sidelines, the Wolverines boasted 27 All-Americans and earned top 10 team finishes in five consecutive NCAA Championships, including a fourth-place finish in 2018 and fifth-place showings in 2019 and 2021. Russell's teams were 65-27 in dual meets and 41-19 in Big Ten competition over his seven years.
WRESTLING CAREER
Russell was a two-time NCAA 141-pound champion (2011, 2012). He became the sixth multiple-time champion in Michigan history with a 6-4 sudden-victory decision over Iowa's Montell Marion at the 2012 NCAA tournament. He defeated Cal Poly's Boris Novachkov, 3-2, in the 141-pound final the previous year to complete a perfect 38-0 junior campaign. Russell went 71-1 over his final two seasons and boasted a perfect 14-0 record in collegiate overtime matches. The four-time Big Ten champion became just the 11th to win titles each year in conference history and the first to do so in a Michigan singlet.
He was named the Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships as a senior (2012) and Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2008. Twice named Michigan's Male Athlete of the Year (2011, 2012), Russell completed his collegiate career with a 134-12 record, tying for eighth place on Michigan's all-time wins list. His career win percentage of .918 ranks second in program history. Off the mat, he twice earned Academic All-Big Ten and NWCA All-Academic honors. Russell graduated from Michigan in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in physical education.
Since his graduation, Russell has enjoyed a successful freestyle career as a member of the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club. He captured the 66kg/145.5-pound title at the 2013 U.S. Open and claimed runner-up honors at the 2013 World Team Trials. Internationally, he has won medals at the Guelph Open (gold, 2013) and Cuba's Cerro Pelado Tournament (bronze, 2014).
