St. Andrews University Men's Wrestling

Baranik came to St. Andrews with over 24 years of wrestling coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school levels. Baranik is coming off a year where he helped guide senior Heavyweight Denzel Vaughan to be the first NAIA All-American and third all-time at St. Andrews as he finished 5th in the nation. Baranik also led the team to a 10-9 record in 2015 as well. In his first two seasons as the St. Andrews head coach, Baranik guided the Knights to several NCAA Division II milestones. The Baranik coached Knights defeated Anderson University in December of 2007 for the program's first-ever D-II victory. Baranik also coached the teams first-ever regionally ranked wrestler, a 24-match winner, and the program's first-ever grappler to place in the East Regional. Baranik joined the SAU athletic department after spending 2 1/2 years at Maury High School (Norfolk, Va.) where he worked in the Department of Health and Physical Education. Baranik has also served as the head wrestling coach at Maury. Baranik has qualified 13-of-14 Commodore wrestlers for Regionals, coached two District Team Championships, and coached 14 District Champions in that short period of time. Baranik brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the mat having worked as an assistant at four NCAA Division-I colleges and coaching at the high school level for 16 years. St. Andrews competes at the NAIA level. Baranik started his coaching as an assistant at Slippery Rock University. Over the past 24 years, he has also coached at the University of Virginia, the U.S. Military Academy, and Old Dominion University. "I had the privilege to learn from several great coaches. I worked for the legendary Gray Simons at Old Dominion for three years, who is a two-time Olympian and seven-time national champion, and I was able to pick his brain. Fred Powell at Slippery Rock has prepared me for the technical part of the game," said Baranik. Baranik's experience at West Point and UVA has also helped prepare himself for coaching at SAU. Baranik's high school coaching experience has consisted of working at Mercer High School (Mercer, Pa.), Hollidaysburg Area High School ( Hollidaysburg, Pa.), and Maury. Baranik has coached a Pennsylvania State Champion, two State finalists, and has had a fifth-place team in the PIAA State Tournament. The resume of Joe Baranik also consists of numerous other coaching experiences and accomplishments including camps, clubs and clinics. Baranik has worked with the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association (PWCA), and the PA Wrestling Newsmagazine. Baranik resides in Laurinburg with his wife, Roberta. His son Troy is also the SID at St. Andrews while his daughter Marina is in school at Appalachian State. Joe Baranik enters his tenth season as the Knights head wrestling coach after being named the inaugural head coach of the newly established St. Andrews University wrestling program in March of 2006. He can be reached at [email protected] and at . Baranik came to St. Andrews with over 24 years of wrestling coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school levels. Baranik is coming off a year where he helped guide senior Heavyweight Denzel Vaughan to be the first NAIA All-American and third all-time at St. Andrews as he finished 5th in the nation. Baranik also led the team to a 10-9 record in 2015 as well. In his first two seasons as the St. Andrews head coach, Baranik guided the Knights to several NCAA Division II milestones. The Baranik coached Knights defeated Anderson University in December of 2007 for the program's first-ever D-II victory. Baranik also coached the teams first-ever regionally ranked wrestler, a 24-match winner, and the program's first-ever grappler to place in the East Regional. Baranik joined the SAU athletic department after spending 2 1/2 years at Maury High School (Norfolk, Va.) where he worked in the Department of Health and Physical Education. Baranik has also served as the head wrestling coach at Maury. Baranik has qualified 13-of-14 Commodore wrestlers for Regionals, coached two District Team Championships, and coached 14 District Champions in that short period of time. Baranik brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the mat having worked as an assistant at four NCAA Division-I colleges and coaching at the high school level for 16 years. St. Andrews competes at the NAIA level. Baranik started his coaching as an assistant at Slippery Rock University. Over the past 24 years, he has also coached at the University of Virginia, the U.S. Military Academy, and Old Dominion University. "I had the privilege to learn from several great coaches. I worked for the legendary Gray Simons at Old Dominion for three years, who is a two-time Olympian and seven-time national champion, and I was able to pick his brain. Fred Powell at Slippery Rock has prepared me for the technical part of the game," said Baranik. Baranik's experience at West Point and UVA has also helped prepare himself for coaching at SAU. Baranik's high school coaching experience has consisted of working at Mercer High School (Mercer, Pa.), Hollidaysburg Area High School ( Hollidaysburg, Pa.), and Maury. Baranik has coached a Pennsylvania State Champion, two State finalists, and has had a fifth-place team in the PIAA State Tournament. The resume of Joe Baranik also consists of numerous other coaching experiences and accomplishments including camps, clubs and clinics. Baranik has worked with the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association (PWCA), and the PA Wrestling Newsmagazine. Baranik resides in Laurinburg with his wife, Roberta. His son Troy is also the SID at St. Andrews while his daughter Marina is in school at Appalachian State.