Umpqua Community College Head Men’s Wrestling Coach Kyle Temple has announced the signing of local product Ian Thomas for the 2017-18 season. Ian comes to UCC from local wrestling powerhouse, Roseburg High School. Wrestling fans from around the state of Oregon should recognize the name as Ian is the younger brother of former OSU wrestler Seth Thomas. Ian had an outstanding prep career at Roseburg High School with state runner-up finishes his sophomore and senior campaigns. During Ian’s junior year he suffered an early season ending injury that prevented him from competing for the remainder of the season.
Coach Kyle Temple has this to say about the signing of Thomas, “Ian is a really phenomenal addition for the program in our first year. Ian grew up right down the road where he had incredible success during his high school career at Roseburg High School. He has continued to be involved in Roseburg wrestling since he graduated high school by helping to coach at both Freemont Middle School and Roseburg High School. I am looking forward to Ian helping lead this team with both his experience as a student as well as his ability to wrestle at a high level and coach others to improve their skill set. He is a very mature young man and his life experiences can be a valuable asset in leading our younger wrestlers on and off the mat. He will be a perfect addition to our program and I couldn’t be more pleased with his decision to pursue college wrestling in his own backyard.”
The Umpqua Wrestling team has been brought back to the Roseburg, Oregon campus, and will begin competition in the fall of 2017.
Umpqua’s Department of Athletics is composed of nine varsity sports teams including four men's teams (basketball, cross country, wrestling and obstacle course racing), and five women's teams (basketball, cross country, volleyball, wrestling and obstacle course racing). Umpqua is a member of the Northwest Athletic Conference in all sports except men’s and women’s wrestling and obstacle course racing. For men’s wrestling UCC belongs to the National Junior College Athletic Association and for women’s wrestling, the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association. For more information, please visit www.uccriverhawks.com. Follow RiverHawk Athletics at www.facebook.com/Umpqua-RiverHawk-Athletics and also on Twitter @uccriverhawks.