It didn’t take this former Penn State wrestling star long to start a new chapter after retiring from competition.
Late last month, two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph announced his retirement at 28, with this cycle’s Olympic Trials, held in Happy Valley, becoming his last hurrah.
Before retiring, Joseph had already started his coaching career, working as Arizona State’s recruiting coordinator and previously being an assistant at Stanford.
Joseph was unique in that, unlike many PSU greats, he didn’t compete for Penn State’s RTC, Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, but rather for Arizona State’s Sunkist Kids. Now, he’ll be running another RTC. Monday afternoon, it was announced that he’ll be the head coach for North Carolina’s RTC program, Tarheel Wrestling Club.
We have made some new additions to the RTC over the last few days!
Head Coach: Vincenzo Joseph
Director: Dom LaJoie
Sr Athlete: Tyler Eischens📸 @Tony_Rotundo pic.twitter.com/e7a8XiYQDD
— Tar Heel Wrestling Club (@TarHeelWC) May 20, 2024
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Joseph finished his Penn State career 99-9 and wrote a heartfelt message to Instagram announcing his retirement.
“As I do with everything, I put my heart and soul into this and I am truly sad that my time has come to an end,” he said. “With that being said, I am really looking forward to continuing on the other side to be the best coach and mentor I can be. Already very excited for the future, and I will carry on with a smile on my face.”
Joseph battled injuries over the past year while wrestling with the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. At the Olympic Trials earlier this month, Joseph fell to Jarrett Jacques before forfeiting out of the consolation bracket.
Penn State wrestling greats have been getting plenty of coaching jobs since the trials. Mark Hall, a 2019 national champion who also retired following his trials performance, got a job as Oklahoma’s Director of Operations. Nick Lee hasn’t retired yet, but is now an assistant coach on Cael Sanderson’s staff.
