TOM TOMEO NAMED ASSISTANT WRESTLING COACH AT CLARION
Tom Tomeo, a former NCAA Division I
wrestling All-American at Clarion in 1998 and a native of Grove City, Pa., has
been named Assistant Wrestling Coach at Clarion University. He replaces Jason
Robison who left to become the head coach at Washington and Jefferson.
“We’re really happy to have Tom
accept the position and come back to his alma mater.” said Clarion Athletic
Director Dave Katis. “He knows our past and our wrestling tradition here and
will be a great addition to the program.”
Tomeo wrestled at Clarion starting
with the 1993-94 season and finishing with the 1997-98 campaign. In 1998 Tomeo
was a co-captain, had his best season at 142-pounds posting a season record of
31-7 and earned NCAA Division I All-America honors with an 8th place finish. He
also won PSAC and EWL individual titles in 1998. In 1997 Tom was 17-10 overall,
qualified for the D-I Nationals at 142 with a 4th place finish at EWL’s. In 1995
at 134-pounds Tomeo was 31-8 overall, qualified for the D-I Nationals, was PSAC
champion and finished second at EWL’s. As a freshman Tom was 19-9 overall,
second at PSAC’s and fifth at EWL’s.
A 1998 graduate with a degree in
Biology, Tomeo finished his career at Clarion with an overall record of 98-34.
“I’m really glad to be back home here
at Clarion,” said Tomeo. “I had a great experience both on the mats and in the
classroom here at Clarion and look forward to the opportunity to giving
something back to the program. It was also important for me to be able to spend
more time with my extended gamily in this area, since we are such a close knit
family. I want to thank coach Nellis, Mr. Katis and the administration for this
opportunity and pledge to work hard every day to try and make a difference.”
Most recently Tomeo was a Resident
Coach for the USA Wrestling Women’s National Program from November 2003 through
July 2005. He also assisted in coaching the U.S. Women’s Team for the 2004
Olympic Games. The overall program is hosted at the Olympic Training Center in
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Following his graduation from Clarion
he was an assistant coach at Slippery Rock (1998-99), assistant coach at
Cumberland College (2000), assistant coach at the University of Buffalo
(2000-2002), plus his stint with USA Wrestling. In addition he has spent the
last six years as a coach with Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club and is the Owner of
Tomeo Technologies (2001-present), a business which helps develop and organize
strategies for international marketing and business distribution.
“We’re really happy to have Tom back
with the program,” said ninth year Clarion head coach Ken Nellis. “His national
coaching experience brings some new and fresh ideas into our wrestling room. I
think Tom is a very good communicator and has a way with teaching techniques
that will be very valuable to our team. He’s an extremely hard worker and will
also be an asset in recruiting. He will make an immediate impact and we’re glad
to have him.”
A native of Grove City, Pa. and a
1993 graduate of Grove City High, Tomeo was a 2-time PIAA State Wrestling
Champion. He won at 119-pounds as a junior at Class AA, and at 130-pounds as a
senior at Class AAA. He had a high school record of 143-8 and was selected to
wrestle in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Classic (PA vs USA)in 1993. He won the OW
award in the Classic. Tom is the son of Tom and Nanci Tomeo of Grove City.