MORGANTOWN, W.Va.  – West Virginia University wrestling coach Sammie Henson will serve as the freestyle coach for Team U.S.A for the 2017 World Championships, as announced Tuesday.

 

Henson is currently working with the team at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He will also coach the team through training camp in Madrid, Spain, before heading to the 2017 World Championships from Aug. 21-26 in Paris.

 

World Champion and Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, Olympic gold medalist and NCAA Champion Kyle Snyder and Olympic bronze medalist and NCAA Champion J'Den Cox are among those slated to compete for Team U.S.A.

 

“Being chosen as the U.S. Freestyle World Team coach is an honor,” Henson said. “Having the opportunity to be around elite athletes at the highest level in the greatest sport will undoubtedly pay dividends as we lead into the WVU wrestling season. We look to make strides this season and raise the level with the Mountaineers. Team U.S.A. has a stellar squad, and being a part of this team will help broaden and sharpen my skills as a coach.”

 

Henson, who enters his fourth season at the helm of the Mountaineers, also serves as the coach for Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club through the Morgantown-based Mountaineer Regional Training Center. In 2016, he coached WVU assistant coach Nick Marable and former WVU operations assistant Clarissa Chun at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Under Henson's tutelage, Marable earned a spot on the 2014 U.S. World Team, and Henson accompanied Marable to the 2014 World Wrestling Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.