Lock Haven's Chance Marsteller after taking third at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh. Photo courtesy of Tim Barnhart (@tjb5099) and Lock Haven Wrestling (@LockHavenWrstl).
The Navy-Marine Corps Regional Training Center has hired two-time Lock Haven All-American, Chance Marsteller. With the move to Annapolis, Maryland, Marsteller will be reunited with Navy head coach Cary Kolat, who coached Marsteller during his days as a Pennsylvania high school and club standout from 2010-2014.
https://twitter.com/Annapolis_RTC/status/1409875602597896193
Marsteller and Kolat are easily two of the best high school to emerge from the Keystone State. Both were undefeated four-time PIAA state champions, with Kolat doing so for the fourth time in 1992 while wrestling at Jefferson-Morgan High School in Jefferson, Pennsylvania. Kolat ended his high school career at an unblemished 137-0. On the other hand, Marsteller accomplished the same feat while competing for the Kennard-Dale Rams (Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania) in 2014. Marsteller ended his high school career a perfect 166-0, according to PA-Wrestling.com.
Following one of the most dominant high school wrestling careers the state of Pennsylvania had seen in quite some time, Marsteller headed to Oklahoma State to wrestle under legendary head coach John Smith. Unfortunately, Marsteller's Cowboy tenure was short-lived due to a host of off-the-mat issues.
Following a turbulent time in Stillwater, Marsteller returned home to his native Pennsylvania and put together two solid seasons as a Lock Haven Bald Eagle grappler. Over two seasons, Marsteller was a combined 72-7 with two NCAA podium finishes to his credit. Marsteller was a 2018 All-American, placing fourth at the 2017-18 NCAA Division I National Championships in St. Louis. That year, he finished the season at 44-4 overall. His 44 wins are a single-season school record.
As a senior in 2019, Marsteller followed up with a respectable 28-3 en route to finishing third at the 2019 NCAA Championships at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. His path to a bronze medal included wins over a trio of All-Americans in Evan Wick (Wisconsin), No. 1-seeded Alex Marinelli (Iowa), and Josh Shields (Arizona State).
Since LHU, Chance has been active on the freestyle scene at the Senior level. At the Last Chance Qualifier, Marsteller performed well enough to advance to the Olympic Trials. However, Marsteller was unable to punch his tick to Tokyo later this summer.
While Marsteller was brought on as an athlete at the Navy-Marine Corps Regional Training Center, there is speculation he will also be involved in coaching to some degree at the Naval Academy.
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