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John Pena ’98 (Wrestling/Football) -- Three-time All-American at heavyweight, finishing sixth nationally in 1996, fourth in 1997 and second in 1998 … 106-24 career record at Augsburg, including 32-4 record his senior season … MIAC champion at heavyweight in 1996, 1997 and 1998, qualifying for national meet each time … NWCA Division III Scholar All-American in 1996 and 1997 … Team co-captain in 1997-98 … Member of Augsburg teams that won D-III national titles in 1995, 1997 and 1998, second in 1996 … Also played football as defensive lineman on Augsburg’s 1997 MIAC championship team.
John Pena, Class of 1998 … John Pena was an outstanding athlete in two sports, wrestling and football. As a wrestler, he earned All-American honors three times as a heavyweight, finishing second nationally in his senior year, fourth in his junior year and sixth in his sophomore campaign. He earned MIAC championships at heavyweight three times, and finished his career at 106-24, including a 32-4 record his senior season. He was a team captain on the 1997-98 NCAA Division III national championship team, the first back-to-back national title teams in Augsburg history. He was a part of seven national championship wrestling teams at Augsburg, three as a wrestler and four in his eight seasons as an assistant coach. In football, he was a starting defensive lineman on Augsburg’s 1997 MIAC championship squad, which reached the second round of the NCAA national tournament. John was an elementary education major and American Indian studies minor at Augsburg, earning NWCA Scholar All-American honors twice. After graduating, he earned his master’s degree in education and a K-12 principal license from Saint Mary’s University. He served as an elementary teacher for seven years in the Minneapolis Public Schools, and for the last 20 years, he has been an administrator in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. He served for 15 years as an assistant principal, and has spent the last five years as principal at Coon Rapids High School. John and his wife Jennifer, have two children, Jack and Bella, and live in Andover, Minnesota.
