AU has announced Teague Moore as the university’s new head wrestling coach after a month-long search.
Moore comes to the Eagles after being the head coach at Clarion University in Clarion, Pa., for five years. In his time with the Golden Eagles, Moore coached eight NCAA qualifiers and was named the 2011 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
“We are very excited to welcome Teague Moore to American University as the new head coach of our wrestling program,” AU Athletic Director Keith Gill said in a May 13 press release. “Teague has the skills, experience and drive to lead our student-athletes to continued success on the mat and in the classroom.”
Prior to his time at Clarion, Moore was an assistant coach at Harvard University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Pittsburgh.
In his collegiate career, Moore was a four-year starter at Oklahoma State University and won the 1998 NCAA Championship at 118 lbs. He graduated from Oklahoma State in 1999 with a career record of 118-25.
Moore was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008. While wrestling at North Allegheny High School, he was a three-time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association placewinner and a 1995 state champion.
Moore will be taking over for Mark Cody, who accepted the head wrestling coach job at the University of Oklahoma in mid-April. The 2011 National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year, Cody took the AU program from the brink of extinction to unthinkable heights. AU finished fifth at this year’s NCAA Championships, and the Eagles had three All-Americans on last year’s team.
“AU’s wrestling program has proven to be a strong national contender with a very successful record in academics,” Moore told AU Athletics. “I’m eager to continue building upon the recent success of the American program.”
The cupboard won’t be bare for Moore, who will inherit a team that will return two of the aforementioned All-Americans: national runner-up Ryan Flores and fourth-place finisher Ganbayar Sanjaa. Also returning are two Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association champions — Flores and Matt Mariacher — and nine of the 10 starters from last year’s squad that won a program-record 14 dual meets.
tylertomea@theeagleonline.com
