State College, Pa., April 23, 2003 - Penn State assistant wrestling coach Sammie Henson has announced that he will leave the staff  following the spring semester. Henson, who has coached at Penn State the last two seasons, will pursue coaching opportunities elsewhere.    "It is disappointing to lose somebody with the expertise Sammie has," Penn State head coach Troy Sunderland said. "He has worked really well with our lightweights and we will miss him, but wish him the best of luck as he pursues his coaching career."    Henson, the 2000 Olympic freestyle silver medalist, helped guide lightweights Josh and Scott Moore to All-America honors this season and helped lead Penn State to a third place finish at the Big Ten Championships and a sixth place finish at the NCAA Championships, the team's best finishes since 1999. Josh Moore finished third at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships at 133 pounds, while Scott claimed Penn State's first Big Ten title since 1999 and took home fourth from the NCAA Championships at 141 pounds.    "I had a great experience at Penn State and was overwhelmed by the support of the boosters and administration," Henson said. "I think there are only a few places in the nation that have the support and tradition to make a run at a national title and Penn State is definitely one of them."    Henson, a two-time national champion at Clemson (1993 & 1994) continued to train and compete on an elite level while at Penn State and added to an already stellar resume that included a 1998 World Championship title and 1998 and 2000 U.S. National titles. Henson claimed numerous national and international titles while at Penn State, but has decided to change course and focus more on his coaching career.    "I want to be a head coach someday and I believe moving to another program will help me to work closer to that goal." Henson said. "Pursuing a move up the coaching ladder is my main focus now, and I plan on putting competition behind me. I beat the world champion and the top U.S. contenders in competition this year, so I want to go out on top and on my own terms. I think this is a good time to do that and move on."    Henson has previously coached at Oklahoma, Missouri and Northern Iowa.