Former Cumberland University graduate assistant coach Tommy Prairie has accepted the Head Wrestling Coach position at NCAA III Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Plymouth is a member of the NECCWA Conference. Prairie will take over for Jason Holder, who departed last month after four years at Plymouth State -- two as assistant coach and two as head coach.

Prairie was a graduate assistant coach/tournament director at Cumberland. He helped produce six national qualifiers and two Academic All-Americans. He worked with the 125-141 weight classes daily at CU. Prairie was the first Williams College (Eph) wrestler to capture three straight New England Championships and earn First Team All-America honors for three consecutive years. The two-year captain finished third, fourth and second at 125 pounds at the NCAA Division III National Championships from 2003 through 2005, wrapping up his remarkable career with a 106-8 overall record. He is a native of New Jersey, where he wrestled at Delran High School. He was also a Prep All-American at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. in 2001.

Prairie graduated from Williams College in 2005, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He received his Masters in Business Administration from Cumberland University in 2006.

"I am really proud of Tommy and look forward to following him and his program. I know he is going to do an outstanding job. He did a great job helping Cumberland University Wrestling get to the next level. I bet he is really excited to go back to NCAA III and coach against the teams he used to wrestle against," Cumberland University Head Coach Jarad Swint said.

"We would like to welcome Tommy Prairie as our new wrestling coach," said Plymouth State University Athletic Director John P. Clark. "He obviously has outstanding wrestling credentials, and he was very impressive during the interview process. We think Tom has a bright coaching future ahead of him, and we're happy to welcome him aboard. We think he'll be an excellent fit with our student-athletes and the Plymouth State community."