Men's Wrestling
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach Kerry McCoy begins his fourth season as a volunteer assistant coach with the Lehigh wrestling program. A four-time World Cup Champion, McCoy is one of two members of the Lehigh program to be a member of the 2000 United States Olympic team, with head coach Greg Strobel being the other. McCoy qualified for the Olympics at 286 lbs. by defeating 1999 World Champion Stephen Neal of Bakersfield, California by scores of 4-1 and 6-4. In 1998 and 2001, he placed fourth at the World Championships, and this September won a silver medal.
“The addition of Kerry McCoy to our staff has been very significant in that he brings a lot of experience and success,” head coach Greg Strobel says. “Obviously Kerry is a tremendous athlete and a tremendous wrestler, and he has been able to work out with our heavier weights and offer valuable insight.”
McCoy’s insight was apparent last season as one of Lehigh’s heavier weights, Jon Trenge (197) again earned All-America status. Trenge finished runner-up for the second year in a row.
In August, McCoy won a gold medal at the Pan Am Games and earned Outstanding Wrestler status. This caps a steady rise in his career which has seen him finish sixth at the United States National Tournament eight years ago; fourth in 1994; third in 1995; second in 1996 and 1997; fifth in 1998; third in 1999; and first from 2000-03. He is a four-time member of the world team. While an undergraduate McCoy accumulated an impressive 150-18 overall record and won NCAA heavyweight championships in 1994 and 1997. He won 131 of his last 132 matches, including an 88-match winning streak, which was the fourth longest in NCAA history. McCoy was the 1997 Hodge Award winner as W.I.N. Magazine’s Wrestler of the Year. His 34 career falls and 47 wins in 1994 are both school records, and he is considered the Nittany Lions’ greatest wrestler ever.
