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    Healey named head coach at King's College

    WILKES-BARRE -- King's College Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Cheryl Ish has announced Adam Healey has been named the new head wrestling coach of the Monarchs, replacing long-time coach Ned McGinley who will officially retire June 30 after 48 years at the helm. Healey, who recently concluded his third season as McGinley's lead assistant coach at King's, will become just the second head coach in program history after McGinley started the program in 1968.

    A native of Wilkes-Barre, Healey competed during his scholastic career at nationally-renowned Wyoming Seminary Prep where he was a six-time Pennsylvania State Prep School Tournament place-winner. He placed seventh at 103 pounds in the seventh grade before improving to fifth at 103 as an eighth grader. As a freshman, he finished fourth at 112-pounds before placing second at 125-pounds as a sophomore. Healey then won back-to-back state prep titles as a junior and senior at 135 and 140-pounds respectively.

    He competed in the National Prep School Championships his final three years at Wyoming seminary, placing fourth as a sophomore at 125-pounds; seventh as a junior at 135; then concluded his scholastic career with a sixth-place finish at 140-pounds. He finished his Wyoming Seminary career with a 198-44 record.

    Upon graduating from Wyoming Seminary, Healey attended NCAA Division I Bucknell University where he was a three-year letter-winner, competing at 141 and 149-pounds. Healey compiled a 42-58 career record for the Bison, including a 10-22 mark as a senior in 2012-13.

    Healey graduated from Bucknell with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography. He then became an assistant coach at King's in the 2014-15 season while pursuing his Master's degree at Wilkes University. Healey earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Wilkes University in 2016.

    "There is no replacing Ned McGinley and what he has meant to our wrestling team and the King's Community," Ish stated. "However, as the program moves forward we have the highest level of confidence in Adam Healey. Adam over the course of the last three years has taken on increased responsibility with the day-to-day operations of the program and has built strong relationships with the wrestlers. Adam is soft spoken, but has a strong competitive spirit and will work tirelessly to provide our student-athletes with a great experience. As we transition into this new phase of King's Wrestling, I look forward to working with Adam as he makes his mark on the program."

    Healey will have large shoes to fill as McGinley coached over 900 dual meets at King's and amassed 455 wins in his career while producing 45 national tournament qualifiers and 18 all-Americans during his tenure with the Monarchs. He was the longest tenured college wrestling coach at any level prior to his official retirement June 30. Healey will have the luxury of familiarity of King's, the Middle Atlantic Conference, and the NCAA East Regional thanks to his time with McGinley and the college as a whole.

    "I am very excited and grateful for the opportunity to become the second head coach in King's College wrestling history," Healey said. "I am especially thankful to Cheryl Ish and Ned McGinley for their trust and support. It is truly an honor to be named Coach McGinley's successor. Working alongside Ned for the past few years has been an invaluable experience. Ned has taught me so much, but more than anything he has given me perspective on what it means to be a coach. I know the team and I will miss having him in the room every day, but we are hoping he will not go too far. Moving forward, I am confident that our program will continue to progress and I am really looking forward to building on the athletic and academic success that we've had over the years."

    King's finished the season with a 10-15 dual meet record and is expected to return 17 of the team's 19 wrestlers. The Monarchs graduated Zach Smith, who was 18-6 at 174-pounds. King's also lost junior Howard Kilpatrick who was 25-8 at 165-pounds but will be unable to compete in 2017-18 due to field experience requirements in his Physician Assistant major. The Monarchs' top returnee will be senior heavyweight Ralph Bernardo, who was 18-2 before a season-ending injury late in the year. Dakota Quick finished his freshman year with a 20-11 mark at 125-pounds; while sophomore Eddie Merrill was 14-10 and placed fifth at 197-pounds at the NCAA East Regional Championships.

    "Adam is a young man with tremendous energy and a passion for our sport as well as possessing a high level of technical knowledge, McGinley noted. Having been with us for three years as an assistant coach has made him aware of both academic mission and accomplishments of the King's College wrestling program. He knows our wrestlers and has taken a larger role in recruiting student-athletes to King's. Adam has all the traits of becoming a fine college coach and I am confident our program is in good hands."

    Note:
    Healey and the Monarchs will kick off the 2017-18 season November 4 with the Ned McGinley Invitational Tournament. Dating back to the mid-1980's, the event was formerly called the Monarch Invitational Tournament and has been renamed in honor of the retired King's mentor. Click here for full King's 2017-18 Wrestling Schedule.

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