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Ivan Salaverry MMA hosts Navy wrestling coach Cary Kolat

Cary Kolat, two-time NCAA champion and Navy's head wrestling coach, visited Ivan Salaverry MMA and the Roosters Wrestling Club in South Lake Union.

<h6>Seattle Fitness Magazine · 25 Oct 2026</h6><ul><li><strong>10</strong>college alumni</li><li><strong>2023</strong>club founded</li></ul><h2>Hall of Fame wrestling coach visits South Lake Union</h2> <p><b>Cary Kolat visited Ivan Salaverry MMA and the Roosters Wrestling Club in South Lake Union on October 18, 2026.</b></p><p>Kolat is the Naval Academy&#x27;s head wrestling coach, a two-time NCAA Division I champion and Hall of Fame inductee, and he coaches Ivan Salaverry Jr., the gym owner&#x27;s son, as a sophomore on Navy&#x27;s D1 wrestling team.</p><p>Salaverry posted the news that day: &quot;What an honor to have Coach Cary Kolat pass my ISMMA and visit our Roosters Wrestling Club. Hope to see you here in the NW more often!! Go @navy_wrestling.&quot;</p> <h2>The connection behind the visit</h2> <p><b>Kolat now coaches Ivan Salaverry Jr. at Navy, where the gym owner&#x27;s son is a sophomore wrestler competing at 184 pounds.</b></p><p>Ivan Jr. graduated from Bellevue High School in 2025 after winning back-to-back state titles in 2024 and 2025, training with the Roosters the whole way through. Kolat&#x27;s visit came two weeks before the Navy 2026-27 season opener, scheduled November 1 in Annapolis.</p><p>Ivan Jr. chose Annapolis deliberately. &quot;I wanted to serve. And I really like having a routine. I like discipline,&quot; he told Greet Magazine. He started wrestling at home during the pandemic, already carrying a jiu-jitsu foundation from his father&#x27;s gym: &quot;I did dummy throws, shooting drills, even tied a rubber band around myself to work on technique. I just really wanted to compete in high school.&quot;</p> <h2>Who Kolat is</h2> <p><b>Jefferson-Morgan High School in Greene County, Pennsylvania: 137-0, four state titles, undefeated.</b></p><p>At Lock Haven University, Kolat won two NCAA championships, at 134 pounds in 1996 and 142 pounds in 1997. He competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017. In his seventh year at Navy, his record stands at 36-29.</p> <h2>The Roosters club at ISMMA</h2> <p>The Roosters Wrestling Club launched in 2023 inside Ivan Salaverry MMA, established in 2006 according to the gym&#x27;s own website at 230 8th Ave N. It is an official USA Wrestling club serving prep and youth athletes across Metro-King County. Ten Roosters alumni have gone on to collegiate wrestling programs as of October 2026, Ivan Jr. among them at Navy D1, with others at Division II and Division III schools.</p><p>The Naval Academy thread in the coaching staff runs deeper than Kolat&#x27;s visit. Coach Zak Taylor, who competed in Pennsylvania and attended Penn State, describes his wrestling style as shaped by &quot;coaches who mentored him in southeast Pennsylvania, Naval Academy programs, and Penn State clinics.&quot;</p> <h2>Getting on the mat</h2> <p><b>Wrestling classes at ISMMA run five days a week.</b></p><p>Coach Jose Hernandez, the 2024 WIAA Wrestling KingCo Coach of the Year, leads sessions Tuesday and Friday alongside Salaverry. The Roosters hold joint practices four days a week, drawing high school and youth athletes from across the Puget Sound. Admission to the club is subject to coach approval.</p>
Seattle Fitness Magazine · 25 Oct 2026
  • 10college alumni
  • 2023club founded

Hall of Fame wrestling coach visits South Lake Union

Cary Kolat visited Ivan Salaverry MMA and the Roosters Wrestling Club in South Lake Union on October 18, 2026.

Kolat is the Naval Academy's head wrestling coach, a two-time NCAA Division I champion and Hall of Fame inductee, and he coaches Ivan Salaverry Jr., the gym owner's son, as a sophomore on Navy's D1 wrestling team.

Salaverry posted the news that day: "What an honor to have Coach Cary Kolat pass my ISMMA and visit our Roosters Wrestling Club. Hope to see you here in the NW more often!! Go @navy_wrestling."

The connection behind the visit

Kolat now coaches Ivan Salaverry Jr. at Navy, where the gym owner's son is a sophomore wrestler competing at 184 pounds.

Ivan Jr. graduated from Bellevue High School in 2025 after winning back-to-back state titles in 2024 and 2025, training with the Roosters the whole way through. Kolat's visit came two weeks before the Navy 2026-27 season opener, scheduled November 1 in Annapolis.

Ivan Jr. chose Annapolis deliberately. "I wanted to serve. And I really like having a routine. I like discipline," he told Greet Magazine. He started wrestling at home during the pandemic, already carrying a jiu-jitsu foundation from his father's gym: "I did dummy throws, shooting drills, even tied a rubber band around myself to work on technique. I just really wanted to compete in high school."

Who Kolat is

Jefferson-Morgan High School in Greene County, Pennsylvania: 137-0, four state titles, undefeated.

At Lock Haven University, Kolat won two NCAA championships, at 134 pounds in 1996 and 142 pounds in 1997. He competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017. In his seventh year at Navy, his record stands at 36-29.

The Roosters club at ISMMA

The Roosters Wrestling Club launched in 2023 inside Ivan Salaverry MMA, established in 2006 according to the gym's own website at 230 8th Ave N. It is an official USA Wrestling club serving prep and youth athletes across Metro-King County. Ten Roosters alumni have gone on to collegiate wrestling programs as of October 2026, Ivan Jr. among them at Navy D1, with others at Division II and Division III schools.

The Naval Academy thread in the coaching staff runs deeper than Kolat's visit. Coach Zak Taylor, who competed in Pennsylvania and attended Penn State, describes his wrestling style as shaped by "coaches who mentored him in southeast Pennsylvania, Naval Academy programs, and Penn State clinics."

Getting on the mat

Wrestling classes at ISMMA run five days a week.

Coach Jose Hernandez, the 2024 WIAA Wrestling KingCo Coach of the Year, leads sessions Tuesday and Friday alongside Salaverry. The Roosters hold joint practices four days a week, drawing high school and youth athletes from across the Puget Sound. Admission to the club is subject to coach approval.

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