Contact Coach Rivera
E-mail: riveraj@po-box.esu.edu
Phone: (570) 422-3313

Joey Rivera enters his third season as the head wrestling coach at East Stroudsburg University after leading the Warriors to a 7-4-1 record in their final 12 dual matches of the 2008-09 season.

Rivera leads the Warriors into the 2009-10 campaign, their first in NCAA Division II after competing at the Division I level for more than three decades, looking to make an impact both regionally and at the national level.

ESU had three top-eight finishers at the 2009 EIWA Championships last spring and returns two of them in redshirt sophomore Thad Frick (165) and junior Ed Ebewo (184). Redshirt senior Shane Mallory was also in the top eight in the EIWA in 2008 at 174 pounds and is one of the Warriors’ top returners.

Heavyweight Chris Birchler was third in the EIWA last year and finished in the top 12 in the NCAA Division I Championships. Birchler, Mallory, Sean Carr (141) and Dave Williams (197) were also quarterfinalists in the EIWA under Rivera in 2008. ESU has also had four wrestlers place in the top three at the PSAC Championships in the last two years - Mallory, Birchler, Carr, and Matt Swallow (133).

Rivera was an assistant coach for the Warriors under Jason Kutz during the 2006-07 season and moved into the head coach’s chair last winter. He has proven himself as a top-level coach in the wrestling room and has also demonstrated his ability as a recruiter, bringing in talented freshmen classes during his first two recruiting cycles.

Rivera was an NCAA qualifier at Boston University following a standout career at Stroudsburg High School. He was the team’s outstanding freshman and outstanding wrestler while at Boston, and was team captain as a senior. He qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and finished his career with a record of 86-30.

Rivera earned his degree in Psychology from Boston in 2005 and was a recipient of the Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner’s Academic Award. At Stroudsburg High School, Rivera was a four-time state qualifier and set the school record with 137 career wins. He finished fifth in the state as a freshman and sophomore, eighth as a junior and fourth as a senior. He was also a two-time regional champion.

As a freestyle wrestler, Rivera placed eighth in the 60kg weight class at the U.S. National Freestyle Tournament in 2008. It was the first freestyle tournament in which he had competed.

Rivera and his wife, Leah, were married in October 2007 and reside in Stroudsburg.