April 4, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Simpson College Athletic Director John Sirianni has announced he has promoted Clint Manny to head wrestling coach. Manny replaces Ron Peterson who resigned earlier this year.

"Clint is ready for the challenge and I’m confident he’ll do a great job," Sirianni said. "He grew up in Iowa, was very successful at Simpson, and understands what it takes to succeed at the conference and national level.”

Peterson also said Manny is ready to lead the program.

"Clint is a tremendous coach and has the vision to lead Simpson wrestling to new horizons," Peterson commented. "He was born to be a college wrestling coach. He has the tools to help these student-athletes become champions."

Manny moves to head coach after serving as a member of the Simpson staff for the past three years, two of which were as the full-time assistant. Manny was a student assistant for the Storm in 2005-06 as he completed his physical education degree. Manny became the all-time winningest wrestler at Simpson when he won three matches at the 2005 NCAA Division III National Championships. Manny concluded his career with a 148-24 record, breaking the old record of 146 (146-17-1) set by Travis Young (1989-92).

A three-time All-American for Simpson at 149 pounds, Manny was the national runner-up at 149 as a junior and as a senior. He spent all of his senior season ranked first in the weight class. Of his five losses as a senior (34-5), two were to wrestlers from NCAA Division I Oklahoma State including then No. 1 Zach Esposito and three were to nationally ranked Division III opponents. Manny was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2004 Division III NWCA Duals. He was chosen Iowa Conference Male Athlete and Wrestler of the Week a total of four times in his career.

"I am very excited for the opportunity to represent Simpson College wrestling," Manny said. "I am looking forward to helping build a program that already has a strong tradition. I had a great experience at Simpson and am committed to providing the same opportunities for future student-athletes. I would like to thank Ron for giving me the tools to succeed in the sport of wrestling over the past seven years."

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