WAYNESBURG, Pa. (pacathletics.org) – Waynesburg University Director of Athletics Tim Fusina announced the hiring of Bobby Patnesky as the Yellow Jackets' head men's wrestling coach on Tuesday.

"Bobby's background in Western Pennsylvania and his accomplishments as a head coach and athlete at the Division I and III levels made him the ideal candidate," said Fusina. "He shows a passion for the sport, coaching and mentoring his athletes. We are thrilled to welcome him to Waynesburg University and look forward to see him re-build this program to regional and national prominence."

Patnesky enjoyed a standout prep and collegiate wrestling career at nearby Canon-McMillan High School and West Virginia University. He spent 12 years as the head coach at NCAA Division I Davidson and five years at Penn State Behrend, where he revitalized a Division III program that had been dormant for nearly 40 years.

"I would like to thank AD Tim Fusina and the search committee for selecting me as the next head wrestling coach at Waynesburg University," said Patnesky. "I am extremely excited for the opportunity to lead a program with a very rich tradition. We have a great nucleus of young men to build our team around and will expand on the successes they have achieved."

Patnesky was tabbed to restart Penn State Behrend's wrestling program in the 2017-18 season. In the program's second year, 184 pounder Jake Paulson qualified for the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships. Patnesky served as chair of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Committee while with the Lions. In addition to his coaching duties, Patnesky also served a professor of Kinesiology at Behrend.

At Davidson, Patnesky coached for 12 seasons and led the Wildcats to 68 dual match victories, the second-most in program history. He mentored four Southern Conference champions and five NCAA Division I national qualifiers.

In 2013, Anthony Elias was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the SoCon Tournament. The following year, Davidson qualified two wrestlers to the NCAA National Championships for the only time in program history. In 2015, Scott Patrick claimed his second-consecutive SoCon crown at 184 pounds and became the first Wildcat to win at match at the NCAA Championships since 1968 and the first to win multiple matches at NCAAs in program history.

The Wildcats excelled academically under Patnesky's watch. Davidson was included in the National Wrestling Coaches' Association's Division I All-Academic rankings seven times, including back-to-back No. 5 rankings in 2009 and 2010. 

Prior to earning the top job at Davidson, Patnesky served as an assistant coach with the Wildcats for one season. He spent two years as an assistant at Ohio University where he coached four-time All-American Jake Percival and began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, WVU.

As a competitor at Canon-Mac, Patnesky was a WPIAL champion, a three-time Junior Nationals All-American and a Junior Nationals finalist.  With the Mountaineers, he was a three-time NCAA Division I national qualifier with over 100 collegiate victories. He claimed the Eastern Wrestling League championship at 133 pounds as a senior, competed for the U.S. on a tour of France and Poland and was an NWCA Academic All-American.

Patnesky was inducted into the Washington-Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. He earned a bachelor's degree in communications from WVU in 2000 and a master's in athletic administration from Ohio in 2003.

"I am looking forward to uniting the Waynesburg wrestling family, because the tighter we come together the more we can achieve in the future," said Patnesky. "The future is very bright for Waynesburg University Wrestling!"

Contributed by Waynesburg Athletic Communications