Athletics Updates - Northern Magazine

Celso “Tony” DeAnda has taken the helm as the first women’s wrestling coach as Northern becomes the first public university in Michigan to sponsor women’s wrestling as an NCAA scholarship-level program.

“Tony has contributed significantly to the growth of the sport and his considerable experience will benefit NMU student-athletes going forward,” said Director of Athletics Forrest Karr.

DeAnda comes to NMU after starting the women’s wrestling program at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., where he coached five Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association All-Americans including two National Champions. In 2020, his team finished fourth at the WCWA Nationals. During his time with the Blue Hose, a total of 15 athletes earned conference Academic Honor Roll while two went on to qualify for the Olympic Team Trials.

He started his career as an assistant coach for women’s wrestling with the United States Olympic Education Center at NMU from 2005-2011. As a member of the USA Wrestling’s National Staff for Women’s Freestyle, he helped coach Randi Miller at the USOEC prior to her winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.

He went on to serve as the head coach of Women’s Wrestling at the University of Jamestown and then the University of Providence. He has led teams in competition at World Championships, Pan-Am Championships, and Youth Olympic Games

As a wrestler, he was ranked top 10 in the United States and was a three-time national-place winner. He was also a Real Pro Wrestling National Champion and five-time National Champion in Mexico. His collegiate career saw him named an NCAA DII All-American.

“Northern has a tradition-rich history in women’s wrestling at the Olympic level and men’s wrestling at both the NCAA and Olympic levels,” said Karr. “We are excited to bring women’s freestyle wrestling back to campus.” Karr also noted that as Northern’s female population within the university student body has grown over the years, adding women’s wrestling will help NMU continue to ensure that the numbers of men and women participating in intercollegiate athletics are substantially proportionate to overall enrollment.

The team’s current roster includes wrestlers from Katy, Texas to North Pole, Alaska, and is expected to grow to 30 participants by the program’s fourth year.

Andy Keller has taken over as the head Nordic ski coach. He served as associate head coach during the 2020-21 season and was assistant coach for three years prior.

“Andy has demonstrated the ability to recruit and coach high-level student-athletes, and earned the trust and respect of coworkers and the team,” said Director of Athletics Forrest Karr. “Andy is a student of the sport and very thoughtful. He encourages communication and student-athletes being involved in the development of training programs. Andy genuinely cares about helping student-athletes and has a solid plan to continue Northern’s tradition of success.”

Keller has played a key role in all aspects of the daily operations of the program since arriving in the summer of 2017. He has also been solely responsible for the design and implementation of the strength training program for the team.

“I am eager to contribute my enthusiasm and skills to guiding the ski program into the next phase of academic and athletic achievement. I will strive to carry on the tradition of excellence that Sten Fjeldheim has instilled within the student-athletes of this team.”

Keller previously spent five years coaching and directing with the Central Cross Country Skiing Association. He also served on the staff for three World Junior and U23 World Championship teams.

He was a four-year letterwinner for Michigan Technological University as a skiing student-athlete and a three-year letterwinner for the Huskies’ cross country running team while earning a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in coaching fundamentals.