Wes Hand Named Virginia Tech Assistant Coach

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Virginia Tech Sports Information ()
06/13/2002


BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech head wrestling coach Keith Mourlam   announced Thursday the hiring of two-time collegiate All-American Wes Hand as the new assistant coach for the Hokies. Hand will officially begin his duties on July 1. He replaces former assistant Dan Wirnsberger, who took the head coaching job at Bloomsburg University in April.    "I'm excited about the opportunity to work with Coach Mourlam and the prospect of helping Virginia Tech win matches," Hand said. "This is my first full-time coaching job on the college level and I'm real fired up for it. I'm real anxious to meet the team, the administration and everyone in the community."    Hand comes to Tech after serving as a volunteer assistant coach the past two seasons at the University of Iowa, his alma mater. While wrestling at Iowa, Hand recorded a career record of 102-32 with 18 falls while earning four letters. He was a national runner-up at heavyweight in 2000 and placed eighth in the country in 1998.    "Wes will make a positive impact in the wrestling room," Mourlam said of his new co-worker. "He's young and wants to make an impact. We both come from Iowa, so our wrestling philosophies are the same. The one thing he brings is discipline. He's a strong disciplinarian and that's one thing you need in order to have a successful wrestling program. He'll help out the upper weight classes and that will be good for this program."    A native of Tama, Iowa, Hand, 26, graduated from the University of Iowa in 2001 with a B.S. in health, leisure and sport studies.