A 2005 graduate of Williams College (Mass.), Prairie replaces Jay Robison, who resigned following the 2010-11 season after six years on the Washington, Pa., campus.
“Tommy is an outstanding young coach who has been successful in NCAA Division III as a student-athlete and as a coach,” said Dukett. “He has experienced both sides of what it takes to succeed in the classroom and on the mat. Tommy displays great passion for the sport and epitomizes what the student-athlete experience at Washington & Jefferson College is all about. His organizational skills and recruiting experience will help us continue to grow the sport of wrestling on our campus.”
“We would like to thank Coach Robison for his dedication to W&J wrestling,” added Dukett. “He helped maintain a level of success with our wrestling program and Coach Prairie is excited to put his own mark on our team as the new coach.”
Prairie comes to W&J after spending four seasons as the head wrestling coach at Plymouth State University (N.H.). This past winter, he helped the Panthers to their best finish (4th) at the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Championships since 2003. One PSU wrestler, Mike Willey, qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships after compiling a 21-match win streak.
Following the 2008 season, Prairie was honored as the NEWA Rookie Coach of the Year. Five Plymouth State wrestlers were named NWCA Scholar All-Americans under his leadership.
A 2001 Blair Academy (N.J.) graduate, Prairie was inducted into the New England Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010. He had a standout career at Williams College as a three-time NCAA Division III All-American (125 pounds), becoming the first Eph wrestler to accomplish the feat. In 2005, he finished as the national runner-up and was named the South Jersey College Wrestler of the Year.
As a sophomore, he posted a 30-1 record and finished third at the national championships. He followed that season up with a fourth-place showing at the 2004 national tournament. Prairie owned a 106-8 collegiate record and was a three-time NEWA champion.
Prairie has also spent time as an assistant coach at Cumberland University (2005-06), where he earned his MBA, and Delran High School in New Jersey. Prairie attended Delran High School before spending one year at Blair Academy. At Williams, he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science. In 2009, Prairie was selected to the National Wrestling Leadership Academy.
The 2011-2012 Washington & Jefferson wrestling season will be highlighted by the 50th anniversary of the first Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship team (1962).
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