An accomplished wrestler and coach at the collegiate level, Mike Bammes begins his second season following an inaugural year of Barton wrestling.  

Bammes and the Cougars made a big splash on not just the region but on a national scale sending all ten athletes to the NJCAA Wrestling National Championships bringing home a No. 15 national finish.  Six Cougars came within a win from the All-American rounds with sophomore Will Bardezbain breaking through for a fifth place 120 pound finish to earn Barton’s first wrestling All-American honor.

Arriving from his alma mater Fort Hays State University, Bammes had spent the previous two years as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the Tigers.

Prior to joining the Tigers, Bammes served as a high school head coach on two different occasions, Lakin High School in 2010-11 and Dodge City High School from 2006-08. Bammes has also had assistant coaching stops at Garden City High School, Manhattan High School and Salina South High School, along with a middle school in Salina, Kansas, and head middle school coach in Emporia, Kansas, and Hays, Kansas.

A native of Manhattan, Kansas, Bammes began his collegiate wrestling career in the 142 weight division at Garden City Community College during the 1991-92 and 1993-94 seasons where the Broncbusters captured two NJCAA National Championships. Following Garden City, Bammes was a member of the varsity squad in 1995-96 and 1998-99 in the 150 and 165 pound weight divisions winning a regional and conference championship in 1998-99.  Voted a team Captain in his final season in a Tiger uniform, Bammes was ranked nationally and qualified for the NCAA National Championships.

Bammes received his bachelor's degree in Physical Education from FHSU in 2000 and is currently working towards completion of his master's degree in FHSU’s Sports Administration program.