DURHAM, NC — Head coach of the Duke wrestling team Glen Lanham announced on Thursday the inclusion of Erkin Tajimetov as assistant coach. Tadzhimetov will coach the weight classes 125-149.

“We are very excited to add Erkin and his experience working with the 125-149 weight classes to our outstanding coaching staff,” Lanham said. “This is the first time we’ve really focused on adding a lightweight coach to our team. In the past, we really haven’t had a lightweight coach and we’ve taken on all of those duties. But given the current situation and this great opportunity to get Erkin, we felt like this was the right move. Erkin has put lightweights on the podium and we felt like it was time to focus on that area, try to develop guys and get a coach that really knows what it’s like to be a lightweight. With classes starting in the fall, we’re excited to get on the mat and work hard.”

Tadzhimetov comes to Duke after spending the past 16 seasons at Utah Valley University (UVU), including the last 12 as associate head coach with the Wolverines.

“I am excited to be an assistant wrestling coach at Duke University,” said Tadzhimetov. “I look forward to working with the coaching staff and mentoring student-athletes to help them achieve their goals on and off the mat. I am eager to contribute my experience to the team’s success and can’t wait to get started!”

Since Utah Valley was admitted to postseason competition at the Division I level (July 2009), Tadzhimetov has helped at least one wrestler qualify for the NCAA Championships every year for the past 15 years.

In the 2022-23 season, Tadzhimetov helped UVU crown multiple All-Americans for the first time in program history, as Taylor LaMont placed fifth in the 125-pound class at the 2021 NCAA Championships and Demetrius Romero placed sixth in the 174-pound class. Tadzhimetov also helped Romero become the program’s first two-time Big 12 champion in the spring of 2021, as Romero won the second Big 12 Conference title of his career and achieved a program-record six Wolverine wrestling podium finishes at the 2021 Big 12 Championships.

He led Utah Valley with three NCAA qualifications and a First Team All-American in the 2019-20 season, six qualifications in the 2018-19 season and five qualifications in the 2017-18 season. In the 2015-16 season, Tadzhimetov helped the Wolverines to a 20-19 upset win at No. 18 Oregon State to earn the program’s first votes in the Top 25 poll. He also helped five Wolverine wrestlers finish on the podium at the 2016 Big 12 Championship, two qualify for the 2016 NCAA Championships and Utah Valley crowned its second All-American in school history in 133-pound senior wrestler Jade Rauser.

Tadzhimetov returned to Utah Valley as an assistant coach after wrestling for the Wolverines from 2003-06. In his two seasons in the 133-pound class, he totaled 48 wins and 16 losses. During his tenure at Utah Valley, Tadzhimetov’s 48 career wins made him the all-time leader. With his 48 wins, he now ranks sixth on UVU’s all-time list. In his final season (05-06), he collected 30 wins, currently ranking fourth in UVU’s season wins.

Prior to UVU, Tadzhimetov wrestled for Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas for two seasons. While at Colby Community College, he finished second in the NJCAA in 2003.

Tadzhimetov grew up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he prepared at the Olympic Sport School. He was a nine-time national champion and a three-time junior world champion. In December 2015, Tadzhimetov placed fourth at the U.S. Senior Nationals after earning an impressive 5-2 record at the event. The fourth-place finish then secured him a spot at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials in Iowa City, Iowa, in April 2016.

Tadzhimetov received his degree in behavioral sciences with a concentration in sociology from Utah Valley University in 2007.

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