3/13/2018 9:06:00 PM
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Wrestling
Pat Santoro named Theraworx NWCA Division I Coach of the Year
NWCA Release
CLEVELAND – As his team prepares to open the NCAA Championship on Thursday, Lehigh head coach
Pat Santoro was named Theraworx NWCA Coach of the Year Tuesday evening at the NWCA coaches meeting and social. The award is presented to the coach that has demonstrated outstanding effort throughout the season in developing and elevating their program on campus and in the community.
Santoro is in his 10th season at Lehigh. He led the Mountain Hawks to an impressive 12-3 dual meet season that included top 10 wins over Michigan and Arizona State. Santoro then guided Lehigh to its first EIWA team championship since 2006 and its 35th overall, earlier this month at Hofstra, as the Mountain Hawks crowned five individual champions and scored 164.5 points to unseat 11-time defending champions Cornell.
For his efforts, Santoro was voted EIWA Coach of the Year by his peers for the fourth time.
Lehigh is one of just two programs to qualify all 10 starters for the NCAA Championship, marking the first time under the current qualifying format that the Brown and White will send all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Championship. Six of Lehigh's 10 qualifiers earned seeds, led by returning national champion
Darian Cruz, who earned the top seed at 125. Lehigh's five individual EIWA Champions were its most since 2003 and its 164.5 team points were its second-most in school annals.
In his time at Lehigh, Santoro owns a 135-44-1 dual meet record. He has mentored two NCAA Champions, led 11 wrestlers to 20 total All-America medals and 16 individuals to 21 EIWA titles.
This is the first national coach of the year honor for Santoro, who was recognized as NWCA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003 in his final season on
Greg Strobel's staff prior to taking on the head coaching position at Maryland.
In 2016, The National Wrestling Coaches Association partnered with Theraworx, for Theraworx to become the Official Prevention Partner of the NWCA. Theraworx Protect, is a topical formulation that optimizes and preserves the skin's natural antimicrobial function.
Santoro emerged from a list of eight finalists for the award, listed below.
The NCAA Tournament begins Thursday at noon from Quicken Loans Arena and continues through the finals Saturday night at 8 p.m.
2017-18 Finalists
Tom Ryan, Ohio State
Scott Moore, Lock Haven
JohnMark Bentley, Appalachian State
Brian Smith, Missouri
David Bolyard, Eastern Michigan
Pat Popolizio, NC State
Pat Santoro, Lehigh
Tony Robie, Virginia Tech
