WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College Director and Chair of Physical Education, Athletics and Recreation Lisa Melendy today announced the hiring of Ryne Morrison as the Ephs' Head Wrestling Coach. Morrison spent the past five years as the head coach at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, New York.
"The committee was impressed with Coach Morrison's demonstrated ability to build meaningful relationships with his wrestlers and coaching them to compete successfully," Melendy said. "His dedication to his team's growth and well-being throughout his career was evident to everyone on the search committee. We are excited to welcome Coach Morrison as Williams Wrestling enters its next 100 years."
Morrison revived the Cardinals' wrestling program after a 38-year hiatus, compiling a 30-12 record in dual meets over the past four seasons, including a 10-1 mark in 2023-24. While at St. John Fisher, he developed one All-American, a pair of NCAA qualifiers and 17 Region II place winners, seven of which came this past winter. Not only were his student-athletes successful on the mats, but in the classroom as well, compiling the fifth-best team GPA (3.73) in Division III in 2025 as Morrison mentored 19 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-Americans during his tenure.
Prior to his outstanding work with the Cardinals, Morrison served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for three years (2018-21) at Adrian College. He helped turn the program around from a 2-8 dual-meet record before he arrived to 22-9 over his three campaigns. Morrison was instrumental in churning out four All-Americans, three NCAA national qualifiers, eight Central Region place winners, eight NWCA Scholar All-Americans and eight First-Team Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association selections at the school located in Adrian, Michigan.
Morrison began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, coaching a pair of NWCA Scholar All-Americans and an NCAA qualifier in 2017-18.
Morrison has also been active with wrestling camps and clinics. He served as the assistant director at the Rochester Regional Training Center over the past three years, growing participation in Olympic-style wrestling across the Greater Rochester area through targeted outreach, clinics and training opportunities. The club director with the Bulldog Wrestling Club in Adrian, Morrison helped grow the sport in the local community with an average of 40 wrestlers between the ages of 5-18. He also was an assistant coach and fundraising director for Team NY, and coached with the team at the U16 and U18 National Championships.
"It's an incredible honor to lead a program with the history and tradition of Williams College Wrestling," Morrison said. "I'm grateful for Lisa Melendy and the search committee for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to building strong relationships with our student-athletes, alumni and the broader Williams community."
A 2016 graduate of Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, with a degree in health and exercise physiology, Morrison was a four-year member of the Bears' wrestling program, being named captain and earning All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) honors as a senior. He was also a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and received the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award in his one season on the wrestling squad at Kutztown University (2016-17). Morrison went on to earn his master's degree at the University of Mount Union in educational leadership in athletic coaching in 2021.
Williams enjoyed its finest wrestling campaign ever this past winter, finishing ninth at the NCAA Division III Championships. Senior Peter Kane won the national individual title at his weight class (157), while sophomore Jamie Evarts (184) and senior Caleb Seyfried (149) also garnered All-America honors by placing third and eighth, respectively.
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