Coach Hanlon grew up wrestling in Illinois and California.  He ended his career earning a bid to the Air Force's World Class Athlete Program in 2002 before selection into Special Operations.  He's been an Assistant Coach at 3 different high school programs when time allowed between 16 deployments during his military career as a Special Operations Combat Aviation Advisor.  Since retirement in 2022, he has dedicated his time producing 4 state qualifiers,  and 1 state placer in his most recent season, with one wrestler receiving a scholarship to Keiser University.