Kerry McCoy named head wrestling coach at Stanford
6/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
“It will be difficult leaving a program that is a big part of me,” McCoy said. “Over the years, I have developed strong relationships with the team, with the University, and the community. Lehigh is a special place, and moving on will be difficult. I will try not to look behind, but to look ahead at the great opportunity and challenge before me.”
“I am very excited for him,” said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel, set to enter his eleventh season. “We are flattered that it was such a tough decision for Kerry to leave us. I am pleased to have had him as a coach for five years.”
On the mat, McCoy is a two-time Olympian and four-time World Cup Champion. McCoy qualified for the 2000 Olympics at 286 lbs. by defeating 1999 World Champion Stephen Neal of
In 2004, McCoy won his fifth straight U.S. National Freestyle Wrestling Championships. He was dominant, taking five straight matches and defeating 2003 NCAA champ Steve Mocco in the final, 3-0. Thanks to his victory, McCoy advanced straight to the finals of the Olympic Trials, where he bested Tolly Thompson 5-3 and 8-0 to earn the right to represent the
Strobel also served as McCoy’s coach for ten years. “This is a bittersweet thing,” Strobel continued. “This is almost like your son getting his first job: I am so excited for him, but now he has to leave home.”
McCoy’s collegiate wrestling career took place on the mat at
At Stanford, McCoy will be able to continue with many of the things he worked on at Lehigh, including coaching student-athletes with very strong academic backgrounds. “Coming from a great academic school like Lehigh, I understand the importance of time management and the rigorous academic demands placed on the students outside the classroom,” McCoy explained.
McCoy is the latest in a growing list of Strobel assistants who have moved on to be successful wrestling coaches at the NCAA level. Longtime Lehigh assistant Pat Santoro is in his third season as the head coach at the
