Larry Sprecher Named Bucknell Assistant Wrestling Coach
University of Pittsburgh Grad Joins Wirnsberger’s Staff
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Larry Sprecher has been named the assistant wrestling coach at Bucknell University, head coach Dan Wirnsberger announced on Tuesday. Sprecher joins Wirnsberger as the wrestling program makes its return to varsity status in 2005-06.
“I am excited to have Larry as part of my wrestling staff. He brings a level of energy and maturity that is needed at this point of the program, “said Wirnsberger. “He is a diligent worker that will be very successful in the coaching profession.”
Sprecher comes to Bucknell after serving as a graduate assistant for the wrestling program at Bloomsburg University where he helped develop and implement practice plans. He also served as tournament director for the AAU Ironman tournament and designed marketing strategies for summer wrestling camps during his stint with the Huskies. At Bloomsburg, Sprecher helped Wirnsberger lead the squad to the 2005 PSAC title and had six wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to his time at Bloomsburg, Sprecher coached wrestling at the high school level for E.A. Laney High School in Wilmington, N.C., where he was voted Mid-Eastern Coach of the Year after taking a previously unranked program to a fourth place finish in the North Carolina state tournament and coach the school’s first state champion. During his four years at E.A. Laney, he coached over 21 state qualifiers, five state place winners and four state champions.
Sprecher also served as an assistant wrestling coach at Central Dauphin High School in Middletown, Pa., and completed a strength and conditioning internship with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he helped implement strength, conditioning and rehabilitation programs for all players and lived on site with the team during the 1998 training camp.
A 1998 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Sprecher earned a bachelor of science in education and is working to complete his masters degree in exercise physiology from Bloomsburg. While at Pitt, Sprecher was a varsity wrestler and earned the Bell Atlantic Division I Scholar Athlete Award his senior year.
Founded in 1947, the Bucknell wrestling program was designated for club-varsity status following the 2001-02 season, but largely through a generous $5.6 million donation by former Bison wrestler Bill Graham ’62 that also helped fund Bison women’s athletics programs, it was announced in May 2004 that wrestling would return as Bucknell’s 27th varsity sport in 2005-06
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