Timberlane Regional’s Dan Donovan, left, Connor McGonagle, center, and Barry Chooljian after McGonagle’s 1-0 win over Danbury’s Kyle Fields at the 2019 New England championships.
PLAISTOW, N.H., May 15, 2020 – Dan Donovan, the long-time assistant coach at Timberlane Regional, will take over for the legendary coach Barry Chooljian, who has stepped down after 34 years of coaching the Owls.
Donovan, a 1988 Timberlane High graduate, has been an assistant coach with the team for 17 years. He was a two-time New Hampshire champion with the Owls and a four-time state finalist. He wrestled at the Division I level for Central Connecticut State under Hall of Fame coach Ken DeStefanis.
Chooljian had an outstanding dual meet record of 613-52-5 and led the Owls to a record 10 New England championships. The Owls have won 20 of the last 21 Division I titles in the Granite State.
“I’m never going to be Barry Chooljian, but I hope to continue our success as a team and use the sport to make the lives of kids better,” Donovan told The Eagle Tribune in Lawerence, Mass. “We have similar styles and I’ve learned a tremendous amount from him.”
