World Team Member Tyler Graff Is the Newest Coach at Rutgers
Welcome to the Scarlet Knights, Tyler Graff. The Team USA representative at 61 kilograms is joining the staff at Rutgers University as the volunteer assistant for the 2019-2020 season, an exciting get for a team that has been trending upwards in huge ways the last few years. Graff wrestled in the Big Ten himself, competing for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2008-2014, where he enjoyed incredible success.
Learn how to dominate from the two-on-one with Penn State All-American Dan Vallimont
Tyler Graff's time in college was marked by consistency and success, earning 97 victories in one of the toughest weights and conferences in the country. With a career placement record of fifth, fifth, third, and second, he is one of the most successful wrestlers in Wisconsin history and a rare four-time All-American. He will bring experience, vitality, and one of the most varied offensive arsenals of any active freestyle American wrestler to the Rutgers room, where he can hellp bouy lighter weights like 125, 133 (where Rutgers crowned their first national champion in Nick Suriano last year), and 141.
Post-collegiately, Graff has been a long-time national contender before finally breaking through this year and beating Joe Colon to earn the spot at Worlds. After losing at the US Open and battling through an incredibly deep bracket, Graff won the World Team Trials tournament to qualify for Final X, where he punched through in the best-of-three series. Graff has revitalized his career under the tutelage of Reece Humphrey, the NJRTC coach who in only their first year have established themselves as one of the best clubs in America.
Rutgers University picks up Graff right as they are coming into their own as a national power program. After never having a national champion in school history (despite being from such a talent-rich area), Rutgers earned two national championships this year, with Nick Suriano and Anthony Ashnault both capturing gold, The team's performance was good enough to earn a top-10 finish at NCAAs, capping off a year that saw them beat three top-20 programs in duals and pick up a ton of great recruits. Congratulations to Tyler and the whole Rutgers program!
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