Santoro named Assistant Coach of the Year
9/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh assistant coach Pat Santoro has been named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. The honor comes after he helped Lehigh reach its highest NCAA finish in 24 years.
Santoro, along with head coach Greg Strobel and fellow assistants Chris Ayres and Kerry McCoy, guided the Mountain Hawks to a fourth place finish at the NCAA Championships and Lehigh’s third EIWA title in the last four seasons.
Santoro, who concentrates on the middleweight wrestlers, was on the sidelines as five Mountain Hawks won individual titles at the EIWA Championships, and four of Lehigh’s eight qualifiers gained All-American status in Kansas City at the NCAA’s.
"This is quite an honor for Pat," head coach Greg Strobel said. "It says a lot for our program to have one of our own win an award like this. He has been one of the top assistants in the country for years, and is well-deserving of the honor. After the year we just had, this is the frosting on the cake."
Santoro will return for his tenth season in 2003-04. In college, he wrestled at Pittsburgh before graduating in 1989 as a two-time national champion and four-time All-American. Prior to arriving at Lehigh, Santoro also served as an assistant at Penn State and Duquesne.
John Smith of the national championship team from Oklahoma State was recognized as the NWCA Head Coach of the Year. Both Santoro and Smith will be honored at the NWCA Convention in New York City on September 11 and at the 2004 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Mountain Hawks will open their 2003-04 season in the renovated Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall, when they host Iowa State on November 14.
For more information, please contact Geoff Goyne, Lehigh Sports Media Relations.
Posted Monday, May 19, 2003
