Sacred Heart University

Since taking over as head coach of the Sacred Heart wrestling program in the summer of 2017, John Clark has built the Pioneers into a program that competes both on the mat and in the classroom.

During the 2020-21 campaign Sacred Heart return to the national stage. Nick Palumbo and Joe Accousti became the first Pioneers since 2007 to qualify NCAA Championships.

The Pioneers having ranked in the Top 10 in the nation for team grade point average the last five years. Brandon Levesque earned NWCA Scholar-Athlete honors and was one of three Pioneers to earn an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Academic Achievement Award. During Clark’s tenure the Pioneers have had 15 student-athletes on the EIWA academic list.

Clark was named the Pioneers head wrestling coach on July 17, 2017. An All-America wrestler at Ohio State, he has coached at the Division I level as well as owning and operating the John Clark All-America Wrestling Academy since 2015.

Clark broke into the coaching ranks at Stanford in August 2005, before moving to a position at Lehigh the following season. He was hired at Brown in June 2007 and served there for six years as the head assistant coach.

A 2004 Ohio State graduate, Clark was a two-time All-America selection for the Buckeyes.  He qualified for the NCAA Tournament each year of his career and graduated fourth in all-time wins and third in takedowns in Buckeye history.

Coaching Career

• Served as head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Brown University from June 2007 through September 2013
• Coached David Foxen to the 2012 EIWA Championship at 174 points, the first unseeded wrestler to win a title since 1963
• Spent the 2006-07 season as a volunteer assistant at Lehigh University
• Made his collegiate coaching debut as the second assistant coach at Stanford in August 2005
• Founded the John Clark All-American Wrestling Academy in 2015 in Providence, RI
• In the program’s second season he coached 10 state individual champions, led the program to a Rhode Island State Championship at a third place finish at the New England Championships

Athletic Career

• A four-year letterwinner at Ohio State, qualifying for the NCAA Championship every season
• He was a two-time All-America selection
• Advanced to the Big Ten finals twice in his career
• Won 134 matches, good for fourth all-time in Ohio State history
• Ranks third at Ohio State with 486 takedowns