Darton State College Athletics hired wrestling hall-of-famer Thomas Erikson to take over the Cavalier wrestling program.

Erikson replaces former head wrestling coach Chris Fleeger. He is tentatively scheduled to begin his career at Darton on July 1.

"We feel that Coach Erikson will have an immediate impact upon his arrival at Darton," Darton athletic director Mike Kiefer said. "He brings a wealth of experience as a coach and he's very well known and respected in the wrestling community. We're very pleased with his decision to become a member of our Darton family."

Erikson built a reputation for excellence while serving as head assistant wrestling coach at Purdue University, where he coached All-American wrestlers at the NCAA D-I powerhouse. He simultaneously worked on athlete development among club-level wrestlers through Team Indiana.

Erikson held his role as head assistant wrestling coach at Purdue University since 1999, and said that he recently realized it was time to move on if he wanted a position as a head coach.

"I realized the head coach (at Purdue) isn't going anywhere," he said, "and that I needed to make a move."

He referred to his hire at Darton as a homecoming of sorts, and added that his collegiate wrestling career began in the NJCAA, and he feels that things "are coming together full circle."

Erikson won two national championship titles as a student-athlete at Triton College, a two-year school near Chicago, before transferring to Oklahoma State University and becoming a two-time NCAA All American. He's also a member of the NJCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame.

His new role at Darton will be to continue the development of the wresling program, and also to build up the sport of wrestling in the area, he said.

"I am looking forward to making the term 'student-athlete' be a staple of the Darton wrestling program, where our athletes are just as successful off the mat and in the classroom as they are on it," Erikson said. "To meet that challenge, I am looking forward to recruiting the best student-athletes in the state of Georgia."

Erikson said he also wants to work very closely with Team Georgia Wrestling - the head of club wrestling in Georgia - to build local talent and a strong recruiting base.

"We want to build up the state of South Georgia wrestling and then we want to retain those kids," he said. Erikson added that he has already been in touch with local high school coaches as he moves forward with this goal in mind.

Purdue University associate athletic director for communications Tanner Lipsett praised Erikson's career at Purdue and said he'll be an excellent coach for Darton State College.

"He's a great guy, a great coach and I'm sure you'll be thrilled to have him leading your program," he said.