WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Former Purdue wrestler and volunteer assistant coach Chris Fleeger was announced as the head wrestling coach at Darton College, in Albany, Ga., on Thursday. Fleeger wrestled for the Boilermakers from 2001 to 2006, finishing as an NCAA Championship runner-up twice and earning All-America honors three times. 

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to go to Darton and take over a program with so much support and potential,” said Fleeger. “It’s an opportunity for me to grow as a coach and a person and I can’t wait to start working with the team.”

One of the top lightweight wrestlers in Purdue history, Fleeger had a career record of 86-9, finishing third nationally at 125 pounds in 2002, second at 125 pounds in 2003 and second at 133 pounds in 2006. He owns the second-best career winning percentage in school history, taking .905 of his matches, including a 32-1 (.970) sophomore season, also the second-best in school history. He's third on Purdue's career back point list, and his 2003 season is still third in Purdue's history on the single-season list. Fleeger also had several successful outings in international competition as a Boilermaker, winning bronze medals at the 2002 World University Wrestling Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, and 2001 Pan American Championships.

After Purdue, Fleeger trained with the New York Athletic Club at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He competed in several international tournaments, winning the 60 kg/132 lb. weight class at the 2006 Sunkist Kids Arizona State International Open in Tempe, Ariz. He returned to West Lafayette in 2007, when he began his time with the Boiler Elite Wrestling Club, which he worked with in conjunction to his time as a volunteer assistant coach at Purdue. 

“We’re very happy for Chris,” said Purdue head coach Scott Hinkel. “This is a fantastic position for Chris to start his career as a head coach, and learn a lot of the things that go along with time in the room and on the mat. Darton has hired an amazing coach and technician and the program will benefit greatly from it.”

Darton College Athletics Director Michael Kiefer added, “We are excited to have Coach Fleeger joining us as our Head Wrestling Coach. His success as a wrestler and coach will be of great asset to our program. He was the ideal candidate in a deep pool of applicants, and I am confident he will continue the growth of the wrestling program and take it to great heights.”

A native of Trout Run, Pa., Fleeger received his bachelor’s degree from Purdue in health and fitness in August of 2008.