University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Athletics

Gymnastics is a sport of perfection. There is no room for anything but perfection in the mind of an athlete who defies gravity while flipping, twisting and swinging several feet from the ground. UW-Oshkosh gymnast David Russell was the personification of perfection on the parallel bars.
 
Although men’s gymnastics has not been a sport at UW-Oshkosh since 1993, the hard work, numerous team and individual titles and national acclaim for the once proud program remains impressive. Russell, a master of the parallel bars and a UW-Oshkosh gymnast from 1977 to 1980, helped make an everlasting impression.
 
With UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame member Ken Allen as his head coach and mentor, Russell was part of a national championship team in three of his four years at UW-Oshkosh. Individually, Russell was a three-time national parallel bar champion and five-time All-America honoree.
 
A 1976 Wisconsin State High School gymnastics champion and High School National All-America selection, the Milwaukee James Madison High School graduate was by no means a rookie when he joined the UW-Oshkosh gymnastics program in 1977. Russell’s solid gymnastics background and natural talent was obvious when the freshman took home first place in the parallel bars at the NCAA Division II Championship to earn All-America honors.
 
Russel was back in 1979 to assume his place as the king of the parallel bars. The junior once again swung his way to national glory, this time at the NAIA Championship where he stood at the top of the medal stand to collect his second gold medal as a college gymnast.
 
As a senior co-captain in 1980, Russell had his best year ever at UW-Oshkosh. The senior led the Titans to their first ever NCAA Division II Championship title by again dominating his competition on the parallel bars. Russell captured the NCAA Division II parallel bars title with a score that qualified him for the NCAA Division II Championship.
 
At the 1980 NAIA Championship, Russell earned All-America honors by placing second in the parallel bars to teammate Casey Edwards.
 
Before completing his degree from UW-Oshkosh in 1984, Russell continued to help the school’s gymnastics program by serving as an assistant coach. He also continued to compete on the parallel bars and gained international experience by competing against the Japanese National team.
 
Not letting his expertise in gymnastics go to waste, Russell has spent several years as the head boys’ gymnastics coach at the Oshkosh Gymnastics Center. Russell has been very successful in his 26 years of coaching gymnastics. He has coached numerous state and regional champions, a two-time member of the U.S. Junior Olympic National team and several Junior Olympic national qualifiers. In addition to coaching gymnastics, Russell also serves as the owner of Drexler Roofing.
 
Carrying his passion for the sport of gymnastics into his family life, Russell lives in Oshkosh. He is married to former UW-Oshkosh gymnast, Debra Marchiando and has four children who are all competitive gymnasts. Rehana competes for the University of Minnesota and Randi Jo will be competing for the University of Arizona. His youngest daughter, Dusti, and son, Cody, are both competitive members at the Oshkosh gymnastics center and also plan to participate on the collegiate level.