Princeton University Men's Wrestling

Ayres pounded the mat with an emotion rarely shown from the determined head coach of Princeton Wrestling. Can you blame him After 10 grueling, driven years trying to rebuild the Tiger wrestling program, he punctuated the program's best season in decades by bringing the ninth All-American in Princeton history. That came two weeks after delivering the program's first EIWA champion since 2003, and its best finish as a team since 1978. Yes, that celebration was deserved, but it didn't last long. Ayres still knows there is a mountain to climb at Princeton, and he has enjoyed the enormous steps his squad has taken over the last few years. Last season alone, Ayres sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships (all of whom will return next season, and three of whom made their second straight trip), and he had six wrestlers place at the EIWA Championships, which were held in Jadwin Gym for the second time in five years. Princeton placed fifth as a team at EIWAs, its best finish since 1978, and it wrestled in a winner-take-all match for the Ivy League Championship for the first time in three decades. How far has the program come In Ayres' first two years, Princeton went 0-35 and rarely had to worry about the postseason after Day 1 of the EIWAs. Of course, this isn't a solo venture. Ayres has brought in one of the most credible staffs in the nation; Sean Gray, a two-time All-America wrestler at Virginia Tech, spent seven seasons as the top assistant at Boston University. Joe Dubuque is a two-time NCAA champion and one of the finest wrestlers ever produced in New Jersey. Nick Heflin, a recent NCAA finalist at 197, just completed his first year as volunteer assistant, and previous assistant Andy Lausier is helping rebuild the Sacred Heart program as its head coach. But the constant all along has been Ayres, whose combination of positivity and passion for the sport carried Princeton through several tough years and into potentially one of the most exciting eras in a century of Tiger wrestling. A former EIWA champion and two-time recipient of Lehigh's "Outstanding Athlete" honor during his undergraduate career at Lehigh, Ayres spent five years as a Lehigh assistant before taking over at Princeton. During his tenure, the Mountain Hawks claimed five straight EIWA team championships and produced 12 All-Americas and two national champions. Ayres worked specifically with five of the All-Americas in all aspects of training. Ayres came to the Lehigh wrestling program as an undergraduate walk-on, but ended his career among the best in Mountain Hawk history. While at Lehigh, Ayres established a new school record with 120 career victories, and in 1998 he amassed the most wins in a single season for a Lehigh wrestler with 39. He won the 150-pound EIWA championship as a junior and earned All-America honors at 157 pounds as the NCAA sixth-place finisher during his senior season. Over his four-year career, he never missed a dual match. In the summer of 2001, Ayres placed fourth in the U.S. Senior Open Nationals and fourth at the U.S. World Team Trials. He also finished fifth at the 2002 Team Trials. Prior to wrestling for Lehigh, Ayres wrestled at Newton High School and Blair Academy in New Jersey, where he won 69 bouts. In his senior season Ayres was a District Champion and a regional runner-up at 135 pounds. With a model work ethic, Ayres was the first Lehigh Wrestler in 38 years to become an All-American without earning a medal at the state championship level. He earned his undergraduate degree in marketing and earned his masters in elementary education at Lehigh in 2001. Ayres and his wife Lori have a daughter Chloe and a son Atticus.

Gray, the former associate head coach at Boston University and a member of the Virginia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, enters his sixth season at Princeton with the program looking to continue moving towards the upper echelon of the sport. What the Tigers have done over the last three seasons has been nothing short of remarkable, and the program doesn't look ready to stop that progress anytime soon. Prior to the 2013-14 season, Princeton had won a total of 24 D-I dual matches over eight seasons, and it had sent an average of fewer than one wrestler to the NCAA Championships per season. Over the last three, the Tigers won 28 D-I matches, sent 10 wrestlers to NCAAs, placed 17 at the EIWA Championships and did so while bringing in back-to-back Top-20 recruiting classes. Princeton punctuated an incredible 2015-16 season with an All-American, as Brett Harner followed his 197-pound EIWA championship by reaching the medal podium at the NCAA Championships. As a team, Princeton placed fifth at the EIWAs, and it reached an Ivy League championship dual match for the first time since 1986. And the future only looks brighter. Gray, a two-time All-America wrestler at Virginia Tech, spent seven seasons with the Terriers and helped the program qualify six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships over the last two seasons. Last season, Boston University won five matches at nationals, including one upset over a Top-10 opponent, and earned its best NCAA finish since 1997. One year earlier, Gray helped Freddy Santaite reach the NCAA quarterfinal; the journey included an upset victory over defending national champion Troy Nickerson of Cornell. Gray was more than just a mat coach at Boston University. He worked with all phases of the program, including recruiting, scheduling, fund-raising, travel planning and several other aspects that make up a successful program. After six years as the assistant coach, he was promoted to associate head coach during the 2010-11 season. Gray also had a standout undergraduate career, and he graduated as the all-time Virginia Tech leader in wins (133), winning percentage (.850), pins (45), and pins in a single season (15). The 1998 CAA Rookie of the Year, Gray placed sixth at NCAAs as a junior and seventh as a sophomore. He was also a three-time Eastern Wrestling League champion, and finished his collegiate career undefeated in conference dual-meet competition. Gray was inducted into the EWL Hall of Fame on March 4, 2007, and he was inducted into the Virginia Tech Hall of Fame during the fall of 2015. In 1999, Gray won the FILA Junior National Freestyle Championship and wrestled to a sixth-place finish at 138 pounds at the Junior World Championship in Sydney, Australia. Gray was also recognized for his work in the classroom, as he earned the Virginia Tech Wrestling Academic Achievement Award after posting a 4.0 grade point average as a senior. The Blacksburg (Va.) Sports Club named Gray the Outstanding Male Athlete at Virginia Tech for 2001. Gray's wrestling accolades started in high school, where he was a three-time Prep National Champion for Blair Academy of New Jersey. He was also the first person in New Jersey history to win a Cadet Freestyle National Championship. Gray earned a Master's of Education degree with a specialization in physical education and coaching from BU in 2010. He graduated with an impressive 3.83 grade-point average. Beyond his work in collegiate wrestling, Gray has also gotten involved in MMA/UFC. He was a wrestling coach/corner coach for the recently retired Kenny Florian. Gray and his wife Jessica have a daughter Makayla and a son Eddie.

Dubuque, the 2005 and 2006 NCAA champion, had five years of experience as an assistant coach, including two with his alma mater, Indiana. Prior to that, he spent three years as an assistant with Hofstra. Dubuque, a native of Bloomfield, New Jersey, was a scholastic national champion as a senior and a two-time state champion at Glenn Ridge High School. He posted a 23-5 overall record and was ranked 12th as a freshman, but he missed the Big 10 Championships due to an injury. A year later Dubuque qualified for his first NCAA appearance with a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and then went on to earn All-America honors with an eighth-place showing at the NCAA Championships. He finished the year with a 34-9 overall record, a 21-2 dual mark and captured the 125-pound title at the Northern Iowa Open. In 2004-05 Dubuque placed third in the Big Ten Championships and then defeated three ranked opponents on his march to claim the 125-pound title at the national championships. He became the first Hoosier grappler to claim a national championship since Brian Dolph captured the 150-pound title in 1990. He finished the year with a 29-3 overall record, an 18-1 slate in duals, a 6-1 mark in the Big Ten and a 12-2 mark against ranked opponents. As a senior during the 2005-06 season he recorded an overall mark of 28-1, including a 7-1 record against ranked opponents; he defeated three ranked foes at the NCAAs en route to the 125-pound crown. Dubuque became just the second Hoosier in Indiana history to capture two national titles and the first Hoosier to register back-to-back NCAA crowns. He helped lead Indiana to an 18th-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Championships. While wrestling at Indiana, Dubuque posted an overall record of 114-18, including a 69-6 dual mark and a 19-6 Big Ten record in four years. Dubuque earned a bachelors degree in recreation sports management from Indiana. He has a wife, Jaime, a son Chase and a daughter Sienna.

Heflin worked closely with Princeton heavyweight Ray O'Donnell, who had the best season of his career and reached his first NCAA Championships. O'Donnell also earned All-Ivy League honors, and he placed fourth at the EIWA Championships. Nick will be an amazing addition to our coaching staff for a variety of reasons, head coach Chris Ayres said on the hiring. First, we have been in need of someone to work more closely with our bigger guys and Nicks wrestling and coaching experience should really allow him to elevate them. Secondly, Nick helped Ohio State win a national championship, and his experience through this process should allow him to inject some fresh perspective into the program. Finally, we are working to build a top Olympic Regional Training Center at Princeton, and Nick worked with the best one in the country, The Ohio RTC, Ayres added. Currently, three of the eight U.S. world team members are from the Ohio RTC, including Kyle Snyder, who Coach Heflin worked with on a daily basis. Nick fits what we need right now incredibly well and I am thrilled to work with him throughout the year. Heflin, the 2014 Big Ten champion at 197 pounds, had earned All-America honors as both a sophomore and junior. He defeated Minnesotas Scott Schiller to reach his first NCAA championship match, which he lost 2-1 in heartbreaking fashion; the match referee ruled his takedown occurred just after time expired. Heflin moved into coaching immediately after his undergraduate career ended. Besides his work with the Ohio RTC, he worked as a strength coach with both the Ohio State football and wrestling teams; the former would go on to win the football championship this past January. A human nutrition major, Heflin works with both the Princeton wrestling team and the Regional Training Center. - All Rights Reserved |