DUBOIS – Matt Park of Brockway, Pa., has been named the Penn State DuBois wrestling coach. This fall, he will lead the Penn State DuBois wrestling team to the mat, and help to re-establish a program that has not been offered at Penn State DuBois since the late 1970s.
During his high school wresting career, Park was a four-time district finalist, and three-time district champion. He also qualified for the state wrestling championship three times. After high school, Park continued his wrestling career at Lycoming College. Since then he has coached at Brookville and Brockway area high schools. Under Park’s leadership, the Brockway team was the runner up in the 2001 Dual Meet State Championships. That year Park was also named District IX Coach of the Year. With a resume that reads like that, Penn State DuBois Athletic Coordinator Scott Feldman said Park is sure to bring wrestling back to Penn State DuBois in a big way.
“I am very pleased to have someone with Matt’s wrestling background,” Feldman said. “Matt will take our wrestling program to elite levels, and I think we can look forward to fielding a competitive team immediately.”
Park is just as eager to be at the helm of a program that will be reborn this year. “I think building a program from the ground up is really exciting,” he said. “There’s such a high potential for this program, with so many good wrestlers in this area.”
Both Feldman and Park agreed that the new wresting program could open doors for many wrestlers after they graduate high school.
“We feel we can offer the local wrestling talent a place to continue their wrestling careers while getting a great Penn State Education,” Feldman said. “It is no secret that our area has some of the best wrestlers in the state if not the country. We hope they decide to continue their careers at Penn State DuBois.”
Park added, “This is a real opportunity for wrestlers to continue their wrestling careers. So many of them might not have the chance to do that if we were not starting this program.”
The wrestling season will begin in the fall of 2009.