Alex Clemsen is serving in his fourth season as assistant wrestling coach at Virginia. A former All-America wrestler at Edinboro, Clemsen has helped Virginia to three straight record-breaking seasons.
Virginia had another standout year in 2011-12 as three Cavaliers won ACC championships, while the team went 11-1 in dual matches. In recording a 91.7 winning percentage, the Cavaliers set a program record. Matt Snyder (125 pounds), Nick Nelson (141) and Jon Fausey (184) all won ACC titles, while Snyder also was honored as an Academic All-American, which continued the trend of academic success in the UVa program. A league-high seven Cavaliers were named to the All-ACC Wrestling Academic Team.
During Clemsen's second season with the Cavaliers, Virginia produced a pair of All-Americans while recording its second straight Top-25 finish at the NCAA Championships. Derek Valenti (149) and Chris Henrich (174) each reached the podium at NCAAs, while seven Cavaliers qualified for the national championships.
As a team, UVa won a school-record 19 dual meets during the 2010-11 season, including a victory over then-No. 14 Kent State, which marked the highest ranked opponent that Virginia has ever defeated.
Virginia won the ACC Championship in 2010 and recorded a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2010, marking UVa's top finish at the national championships since 1957. The Cavaliers were ranked as high as No. 16 nationally in 2010 - Virginia's highest ranking ever.
In Clemsen's first season in Charlottesville, Virginia won its first ACC Championship since 1977 as Chris Henrich and Mike Salopek each captured individual crowns. Behind Henrich's All-America finish at the NCAA Championships, UVa notched a 15th place, which was tops among ACC schools. Brent Jones also won the Gorrarian Trophy at the NCAA Championships, becoming just the second Cavalier to earn the honor.
Prior to his time at Virginia, Clemsen worked for two years as Oregon State's Director of Wrestling Operations. During Clemsen's time at OSU, the Beavers had seven NCAA qualifiers, one All-American and one Academic All-American.
At Edinboro, Clemsen was an All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier while posting a 121-35 career record. He was just the 14th wrestler to win four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships, and he also was named an Eastern Wrestling League Champion. He ended his career with the ninth-most wins in Edinboro history.
At the international level, Clemsen was a University Nationals All-American and a University World Team Trials runner-up.
Clemsen also was a two-time Academic All-American, graduating with the highest GPA of any wrestler in school history.
At Moberly Senior High School, Clemsen finished with a 158-7 career record and was an All-American. He twice posted perfect records, while winning the Missouri state championship three times and advancing to the state finals all four years. Clemsen also holds the state record with 27 tournaments won. In addition, he received Academic All-America honors.
A native of Moberly, Mo., Clemsen graduated in 2007 from Edinboro with a bachelor's degree in business administration with concentrations in financial services and marketing. Clemsen and his wife Lindsay have a daughter, Payten, and son, Porter.
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