Belmont Abbey College Men's Wrestling

Caudell begins his tenth season as the head coach at Belmont Abbey. He came to Belmont Abbey via Mount Union College in Ohio, where he spent three years as an assistant coach. Caudell is the only coach in the program's history. While at Mount Union, his wrestlers enjoyed success both on the mat and in the classroom. At Mount Union he coached several NCAA Division III National Qualifiers as well as Academic All-Americans. Prior to going to Mount Union Kenn spent a year as an Asst. Coach at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh PA. At Duquesne he was able to coach three NCAA Div I National Qualifiers. Caudell started the Abbey program in 2005 and has coached two All-Americans as well as seven NCAA National qualifiers. Chris Neidermeier, the first All-American in the program's history, fell just two wins shy of claiming the national championship in 2007 in the 125 pound class. In 2011, a school-record three athletes qualified for the NCAA Nationals.Caudell has also coached two other national qualifiers (Adam Phillips-2009) and Jake Varilek (2010). Off the mat, Caudell has coached three athletes who earned Academic All-America honors in Phil Bliss, Reimark Neidermeier and Tim Stanton.A native of Oxford, Pennsylvania, Caudell wrestled at NCAA Div I Slippery Rock University.  While at Slippery Rock, he started all four years placing three times in the very tough PSAC conference as well as the NCAA Division I Eastern Region. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in Literature. He also holds an Ohio Teacher Certification and is currently working on his masters in Sport Psychology. Kenn and his wife Jennifer currently live in Huntersville with their two daughters.

Randy DeAngelo was elevated to Head Coach for the Belmont Abbey wrestling program on August 1, 2023 after five seasons. He had been directing the program on an interim basis since March. "Since his arrival to campus in 2018, Randy DeAngelo has demonstrated a propensity for recruiting talented young men of character and integrity," Miss said at his hiring. "As he is well aligned with Belmont Abbey College's mission and identity, we are very excited to elevate Coach DeAngelo to lead our Wrestling Program and anticipate achieving great success under his direction.  Our students will benefit from Randy's guidance even more in his new role as Head Coach, for his conviction in our holistic approach - body, mind, and soul - to their formation and development is as unwavering as is his passion for the sport of Wrestling." During his time as an assistant, and later Associate Head Coach, mentored ten student-athletes who advanced to the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championship during his time with the Crusaders. DeAngelo came to The Abbey following an 11-year stint (2007-18) as the head coach at Southern Alamance High School in Graham, N.C. He led the wrestling club at the University of North Carolina from 2000 to 2007 after beginning his coaching career as an assistant at a high school in Orlando from 1993-97. A 1988 graduate of Lycoming College with a bachelor's degree in history and education, DeAngelo wrestled for two seasons with the Warriors. He and Mary, his wife of 35 years, have six children -- Elizabeth, Joseph, Tony, Jake, Julia and Rocco.

Simpsons third season as the assistant wrestling coach at Belmont Abbey College. The Crusaders 2014-115 campaign saw two grapplers return to the NCAA Championships, All American Scot Bosak and Daniel Callahan. In the classroom the Crusaders posted the 19th -highest GPA in Division II wrestling with a 3.1. Four Wrestlers earned NWCA Academic All American Honors; Patrick Mestrez, Daniel Callahan, Jake Glunt, and Will James. Continuing success in the classroom Simpson has assisted 11 student-athletes to Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll throughout the year, 6 in the fall and 5 during the spring semester. In his first year at Belmont Abbey in 2013-14, Simpson aided Crusader wrestler Patrick Mestrez to the NCAA DII National Championships. Academically, he assisted 6 grapplers to reach Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll, 2 in the fall and 4 in the spring. Prior to arriving at Belmont Abbey, Simpson had stints as an Assistant Coach at Campbellsville University, Newberry College, and was Interim Head Coach at Tiffin University.  Simpson, who hails from Chicago, Illinois was a two-year starter at North Carolina State University. As a true freshman he earned a 3rd place finish in the ACC, and won the ACC Team Wrestling Championship his sophomore year with the Wolf-pack. After transferring and completing his degree at Kent State University, he continued success on the mat and academically. While at Kent State, he earned a 2nd place finish in the MAC his junior year, and also helped the Golden Flashes to a MAC Wrestling Championship.

A 19-year teacher of both middle and high school bands in the state of North Carolina, Barry Howard was named Director of Athletic Bands at Belmont Abbey College in December, 2016.In his role, Howard will help lay the foundation for a more robust music program, beginning with the formation of a pep band that will perform at indoor athletic events next year."We are thrilled to announce the hire of Barry Howard as our first Director of Athletic Bands," Director of Athletics Stephen Miss said at his hiring. "Under Barry's leadership, not only will the experience of those participating and those attending our athletic competitions be enhanced significantly, but the growth of our music program that naturally will ensue will impact positively the culture of Belmont Abbey College as well as our community at large."Howard spent the first ten years of his career as the Associate Director of Bands at East Union Middle School and Forest Hills High School in Marshville, N.C.  The bands at these two schools earned consistent "superior ratings" in both concert and marching competitions under his leadership. From 1999 until 2008, he served as the Director of Bands at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, helping the band achieve immediate success with high ratings, class placement awards, and several grand championships.  Likewise, both the symphonic and concert bands earned a combined 11 superior ratings at the state festival during his nine-year tenure.A member of the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA), Howard has served as the District President and as the chairman for All-District Band Auditions for the Northwest NC District Bandmasters Association.  Similarly, he was a charter member of the North Carolina Bandmasters Association's (NCBA) Marching Band Committee which was responsible for the creation of the NCBA's evaluation instrument for marching band. In addition, he has been honored to serve as a judge for both marching and concert band competitions and as a guest clinician for all-county band events in Caldwell, Catawba, Forsyth, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union Counties in North Carolina, and Carroll and Grayson Counties in Virginia.Having earned a Bachelor's of Music Education from Wingate University in 1989 and a Master's of Music Education from the University of South Carolina in 1994, Howard went on to receive a Juris Doctorate from the Charlotte School of Law in May of 2011. He has subsequently been admitted to the North Carolina Bar and is the owner and senior attorney at the Law Office of Barry R. Howard, P.A.He and his wife, Sabrina, who serves as orchestra director at Charlotte Latin School, reside in Matthews with their son, Sam.