Daryl ThomasBUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Campbell head wrestling coach Scotti Sentes has announced the addition of former Old Dominion lead assistant Daryl Thomas to the Camels' coaching staff.
Thomas served as assistant head coach for the last two seasons at ODU, originally joining the Monarchs' staff in 2017. He joins associate head coach Wynn Michalak, announced in April, on Sentes' staff.
"As the assistant head coach at Old Dominion, Daryl was likely to be the next in line to lead the Monarchs," said Sentes. "He has all of the attributes you would expect to find in a head coach. He is well recognized and respected in the wrestling community, he has a great track record, he is someone people want to follow, and he comes highly recommended for the position. We are lucky to have someone of Daryl's caliber joining the staff and I am excited for all that he brings."
In 2019-20, Thomas helped guide four ODU wrestlers towards NCAA qualification, as Killian Cardinale, Sa'Derian Perry, Larry Early and Antonio Agee all earned spots in the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Due to the CoronaVirus outbreak, the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships were canceled. Thomas helped lead the Monarchs to a 10-9 dual record in the regular season and a 6-2 record against MAC opponents.
In 2018-19, Thomas helped send Michael McGee (125), Perry (141) and Early (157) to the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa. Early garnered All-American status and an eighth place finish. During the regular season, Thomas helped lead ODU to a 9-7 dual record, which included a win over a top-25 team in Northwestern. ODU took fourth at the 2019 MAC Championship and one MAC Champion in McGee.
During his first season at ODU Thomas primarily worked with the lower weights. He helped 125-pound Michael McGee earned a MAC Championship as a true freshman, also leading four Monarchs to the NCAA Championship in Cleveland, Ohio.
Prior to ODU, Thomas spent one year as the head coach at Lincoln College. Under his direction, the Lynx wrestling team achieved a fourth place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament. Thomas was named NJCAA Midwest District Coach of the Year after guiding his team to the NJCAA National Tournament.
Thomas coached five wrestling All-Americans in DJ Millett (125, 8th), Christian Kanzler (141, 4th), Alex Gonzalez (157, 4th), Tyree Overton (174, 3rd) and Logan Hagerbaumer (184, 4th).
Prior to taking the head coaching position at Lincoln College, Thomas was an assistant at Northern Illinois University for two years. Thomas was instrumental in coaching five NCAA National Tournament qualifiers in the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Prior to that, Thomas was an assistant at Edwardsville High School, where he helped the Tigers advance four wrestlers to the Illinois state tournament. In addition, EHS also won the team title at the Granite City Regional and finished the regular season with a perfect 28-0 record and a Southwestern Conference title.
At Illinois, Thomas finished with a 53-47 record with six pins. The Edwardsville, Illinois native was a two-time placewinner at the Big Ten Championships - placing sixth in 2012 and 2013 - and also advanced to the NCAA Championships as a senior. Thomas was ranked as high as seventh by WIN Magazine as a senior, while finishing third at the 2012 ASICS USA Wrestling University Nationals to earn Freestyle All-American honors.
Thomas earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in Communications in the spring of 2013.
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