York College Asst. Dean for Athletics and Recreation Paul Saikia and Wrestling Head Coach Duane Bastress '06 are pleased to announce the hiring of Brian Gross as the wrestling program's first-ever full-time assistant coach.
Gross will primarily be responsible for leading the newly minted women's wrestling team at York which is set to begin competition in the 2023-24 school year.
"I am super excited to be coaching wrestling at York College. My passion and love for the sport of wrestling is what drew me to the position, especially women's wrestling," said Gross. "Having raised three daughters that are in college and one that is wrestling in college, I have experienced first hand what women's wrestling does for a young lady. The thought of coaching wrestling fulltime is my dream job."
Gross possesses over 20 years worth of experience mentoring and developing youth through the sport of wrestling. For the past 15 years, he has served as the head wrestling coach at West York Area High School, and eight years prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at both West York and Dover Area High School. He also held the position of Assistant Athletic Director at York County School of Technology for the past four years.
He has worked with the Modern Day Gladiators Wrestling Club based out of York County where he coached both Greco Roman and freestyle competition. Gross also holds a USA Bronze level coaching certification.
Gross is also no stranger to the Spartan wrestling program as he donned the York singlet from 1989-93.
"I am excited to bring Brian on board. As a fellow alumni of the Spartan wrestling program, I know he is personally invested in the success of both our men's and women's programs," said Bastress. "From day one I could tell he is passionate about the sport of wrestling and will help take both programs to national prominence."
Gross resides in York with his wife, Rebecca, and their three daughters, Claudia, Carly and Chloe.
"I hope that my knowledge and experience in women's wrestling will promote and grow the women's team. My goal is to have a competitive women's team at York College to mirror the excellent tradition of the men's team," stated Gross. "I want to help produce national qualifiers, All-Americans and national champions, all while preparing them for life after graduation."
This story originally appeared on www.ycpspartans.com
