Teague Moore’s left ear is molded in scar tissue resembling bubble wrap, almost a badge of honor for a man who lives and breathes wrestling.
The new AU wrestling coach was three-time All-American during his college days at Oklahoma State University, where he won the NCAA Championship in 1998, placed third in 1999 and fourth in 1997.
Now, as the first-year head coach of the AU wrestling program, Moore will face the challenge of replacing Mark Cody, the reigning national coach of the year who left AU to become head coach at the University of Oklahoma.
“Mark Cody was a tremendous coach,” Moore said. “His team respected him very much, and losing him I knew meant a lot to those guys. So I didn’t want to come and try to be Mark Cody, but at the same point, I wanted to come in and be able to show these guys that there are some things that I can offer you that are going to help your wrestling.”
Moore was the head coach at Clarion University in Clarion, Pa., for five seasons before coming to AU.
At Clarion, he led the program to its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship since 1994 while being named the 2011 PSAC Coach of the Year.
Moore wants to implement a similar coaching style to the one that worked so well at Clarion, while his primary goal has been to establish personal connections with each wrestler.
“My coaching style is more trying to relate with the athletes that are here,” Moore said. “I try to find value in every individual that comes in. We know that there are certain key individuals that are going to get national recognition for what they’re doing here with AU, but I want to make sure that guys that come into our program that may never be an All-American still get that one-on-one connection and really enjoy their experience while being a part of our program.”
Moore’s ultimate objective is to bring home an NCAA Championship, and the expectations will be high this season as the team enters the year ranked No. 8 nationally, the highest preseason ranking in program history.
He also stressed the importance of continuing the academic success AU wrestling has achieved, as the team placed second in the national rankings last year with a team GPA of 3.48.
“We are going to attract the top athletes that can handle the rigors of a place like American,” Moore said. “I would like to see us continue and pick up the scoring abilities that our athletes have.”
Senior Ryan Flores and redshirt senior Matt Mariacher are two athletes that have taken vocal leadership roles, according to Moore. However, he expects every wrestler to step up at some point and lead by example.
“We say this to the guys on a regular basis: ‘It’s up to every individual in the program to be a leader,’” Moore said. “At some point, somebody in our room is going to be a leader for this team. It may be the success that they’re having in the classroom; it may be the lifestyle that they live outside of here that their team can kind of follow and want to emulate; it may be the vocal leader we need in the practices; it may be the person that is leading the workouts by example.”
Moore said he has received support from the coaches, players, alumni and administration during his transition to AU. He attributes the ease of the process to Kyle Borshoff in particular, a second-year assistant coach who also went through the AU wrestling program.
Moore and the Eagles will open the season at the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Invitational Nov. 12 in Brockport, N.Y., before traveling to Philadelphia, Pa., for the Keystone Classic Nov. 20.
“I’m excited about this season,” Moore said. “It’s great to be here and a part of the AU community, and I’m excited for what our athletes have in front of them this season. I think we have the ability to do something we’ve never done before: [win] the national championships.”
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