Coaching Staff

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Coach Durning is a veteran educator and wrestling coach with over 20 years of experience developing student-athletes across middle school, high school, and college levels. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Psychology from King’s College (PA), where he also competed as a collegiate wrestler and team captain.

Coach Durning has taught U.S. History, World History, and World Geography in both public and private schools across Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Texas. His recent teaching roles include Cy-Fair High School and Katy High School, where he also served as Assistant Wrestling Coach. His students have consistently earned some of the highest TAKS and STAAR scores in Texas in U.S. History and World Geography.

A former standout student-athlete at Archbishop John Carroll High School, Coach Durning was a multi-time All-Catholic honoree, team MVP, and captain in both wrestling and track & field. His elite wrestling career includes training at the Foxcatcher Olympic facility, representing Team USA internationally against the Soviet Union, and earning accolades such as the Hal Selvey Memorial Award and High School All-American Tournament selection. At King’s College, he was a four-time varsity letter winner, NCAA East Regional Runner-Up, and a member of the All-MAC Team. Under his captaincy, the team broke the school wins record and achieved a top-20 NCAA national ranking.

Coach Durning's coaching accomplishments include leading athletes to UIL and Prep State titles, NJCAA, NAIA, and NCAA All-American honors, and success on the international stage—producing U.S. Open champions, Pan American champions, and world medalists. Teams under his leadership have earned 7 Prep State Championships, a UIL State Championship, and a THSWCA Dual State Championship. He has served as Head Coach for both Freestyle and Folkstyle Team Texas squads that won national dual team titles.

His coaching excellence has been recognized with multiple District, Regional, and State Assistant Coach of the Year awards from the University Interscholastic League, as well as the President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award for his contributions to youth athletics and community service.

Coach Durning believes in building character through discipline, time management, and goal-setting—values he consistently models in both his classroom and athletic programs.

AJ Lyczkowski is a Pennsylvania native , during his time at Methacton High School in Collegeville, PA, he achieved a 102-33 record (65 pins)  and holds the school's fastest pin in history at just 5 seconds.  Lyczkowski's accolades include being a 3-time sectional champion, a 2-time district placer, and a 1-time regional champion. He also qualified for the state AAA tournament. His outstanding performance earned him a D1 scholarship to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he became a 4-year letterman with a record of 46-28 and achieved 2 third-place finishes in the Southern Conference. Lyczkowski earned his B.A. in Sociology.

After his competitive career, Lyczkowski transitioned to coaching, where he made a significant impact. During his time at Olney High School in Philadelphia, he coached 4 students ( 9th and 10th graders)  to become regional qualifiers for 2 consecutive years. Currently, he continues to inspire and mentor young athletes as a Special Education teacher at Peet Junior High in Conroe ISD, where he also coaches basketball, track, and soccer.

Lyczkowski's dedication to the sport of wrestling and his commitment to the development of young student athletes will make him a fixture in the community.

I was born in Oklahoma, but moved to Nebraska as an infant. I started wrestling in elementary school in Nebraska and continued off and on until high school. In high school, I earned three letters in football and three letters in wrestling. 

After high school, I attended Hastings College on a partial football scholarship and won a conference championship and participated in the playoffs as a three-year starter.

After college, I attended graduate school at Oklahoma State, then decided to get involved with football again and started coaching at the small-college level. I earned a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from the University of North Dakota, coached in a national championship game while there then moved around the country coaching at small colleges. After 13 season coaching college football I moved to Houston to coach football at the high school level and became involved in club wrestling when my son was in elementary school. This is my second year coaching high school wrestling in addition to being my second-year coaching at The Woodlands.

My family lives in Kingwood and I have a son who is a junior at Stephen F Austin University and a daughter who is a senior at Kingwood Park High School and will be attending Campbell University to play softball.