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Tommy Prairie (Williams (Mass.) '05) has served as the head coach of the Washington & Jefferson College wrestling program since his hiring in April of 2011.
In his 10 seasons, W&J wrestlers have made 19 NCAA Division III national championship appearances under Prairie's guidance, and Nick Carr '16 became the first wrestling national champion in W&J history when he claimed the 157-pound championship in 2015. Carr finished his career as a President with a 41-1 (.976) overall record, the best winning percentage in program history. His lone defeat came in his sophomore season in the national championship match of the 165-pound bracket.
Jaden Datz qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in 2021-22. Datz joined Alex Donahue and Raheem Clemons as PAC individual champions at the annual meet.
Prairie helped lead the 2019-20 squad to its first PAC team title since 1999. For his efforts, Prairie was named PAC Coach of the Year. The Presidents edged rival Waynesburg by the slimmest of margins to claim the championship. Five Presidents secured individual titles at the event. Hunter Neely and Michael Heinl each punched their tickets for the second-straight year to the NCAA Championships. Neely won the regional championship at 174 pounds, making him the Presidents' first regional title-winner since 2015. Heinl finished as the runner-up at 149 pounds at the regional meet. W&J finished fourth among the 20 teams competing at the NCAA Southeast Regional, which marks the best finish during Prairie's tenure.
Three Presidents were named 2020 Scholar All-Americans by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Heinl, Neely and Kyle Beard were recognized by the NWCA. It marked the 11th straight year that W&J has placed at least one wrestler on the NWCA list. This is also the third straight year that the Presidents have had three Scholar All-Americans.
A trio of Presidents qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2018-19. Jared Walker, Heinl and Neely all won conference titles before finishing among the top three at the regional meet to qualify for nationals.
Jacob Spearman '16 and Sonnieboy Blanco '17 both earned All-America status and top-five finishes in 2016 after entering the national championships unseeded. Blanco returned to the national championships in 2017 and finished third after entering the 174-lb bracket as the seventh seed, marking the 13th time a W&J wrestler finished as an All-American. With a 42-3 record in his senior season, Blanco is now the career wins leader at W&J (124) and is one of three wrestlers in program history with multiple All-America finishes (Dave Krivus, 1981-83; Nick Carr, 2014-15).
Josh Etzel '14 qualified three times for the national tournament and became W&J's first All-American since 2002 after taking sixth place at 157 pounds in 2013. Etzel also earned a spot in the 2012 championship field at 141 pounds after claiming the NCAA Midwest Regional title. In 2014, Nick Carr earned All-America honors and was an NCAA finalist at 165 pounds.
Etzel also excelled in the classroom under Prairie's leadership, twice being named a First Team Capital One Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America, just the 12th W&J student-athlete to earn the honor multiple times. Etzel was also one of 29 winter student-athletes from all divisions to win a prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarship.
Jacob Spearman '16 became the first W&J freshman in recent history to compete at the national championships after he took second place at the regional tournament in the 125-pound weight class. Spearman won one match at the NCAA championship.
A 2005 graduate of Williams College (Mass.), Prairie came to W&J after spending four seasons as the head wrestling coach at Plymouth State University (N.H.). In the 2011 season, he helped the Panthers to their best finish (4th) at the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Championships since 2003. One PSU wrestler, Mike Willey, qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships after compiling a 21-match win streak.
Following the 2008 season, Prairie was honored as the NEWA Rookie Coach of the Year. Five Plymouth State wrestlers were named NWCA Scholar All-Americans under his leadership.
A 2001 Blair Academy (N.J.) graduate, Prairie was inducted into the New England Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010. He had a standout career at Williams College as a three-time NCAA Division III All-American (125 pounds), becoming the first Eph wrestler to accomplish the feat. In 2005, he finished as the national runner-up and was named the South Jersey College Wrestler of the Year.
As a sophomore, he posted a 30-1 record and finished third at the national championships. He followed that season up with a fourth-place showing at the 2004 national tournament. Prairie owned a 106-8 collegiate record and was a three-time NEWA champion.
Prairie has also spent time as an assistant coach at Cumberland University (2005-06), where he earned his MBA, and Delran High School in New Jersey. Prairie attended Delran High School before spending one year at Blair Academy. At Williams, he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science. In 2009, Prairie was selected to the National Wrestling Leadership Academy and in 2013 he was inducted into the Delran Athletic Hall of Fame.
