FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State head wrestling coach Roger Kish today announced the hiring of Manny Rivera as assistant coach.

"We are excited to have Manny on board," said Kish.  "His passion and excitement for the sport will help elevate this program to a new level.  I believe our wrestlers will feed off the energy brought to the program by our staff."

Rivera joins the program after spending last year as an assistant coach at Virginia and two years as a graduate assistant at Minnesota. While at Virginia, he helped coach two All-America performers.

While a graduate assistant for the Gophers, he also served as the assistant director at the School of Champions, a wrestling training program for junior high and high school students. Additionally, he was a volunteer wrestling coach at Rosemead High School.

A native of El Monte, Calif., Rivera was a three-time NCAA qualifier at Minnesota and earned All-America honors as a senior after finishing seventh at 141 pounds at the NCAA Championships. He was also a starter on Minnesota's 2007 national championship team. He finished his career with a record of 113-40 and 27 pins and was team captain as a senior.

Rivera has continued wrestling after graduating and won a bronze medal at the 2010 Pan-American Games as a member of the Mexican national team.

He graduated from Minnesota in 2008 with a degree in psychology.