Head Coach: Ryan Cook
Head Coach, Ryan Cook took over
the helm for Tim Mulholland, who retired at the end of the 2003-2004
season. Coach Cook was the Assistant for three seasons and was
instrumental in developing a winning attitude among the McLane
wrestlers. He was selected the District
10 "Junior Varsity Coach of the Year" in 2002-2003
and led the GM JV team to an unbeaten record and top finishes
at the Corry and Maplewood Tournaments.
Mr. Cook is from Massena, N.Y.
where he compiled a 95-15 career wrestling record in high school.
He was a 3 time state qualifier, 4 year team captain and a 4
time team "Most Outstanding Wrestler."
He is also a former Edinboro University
Wrestler and graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Studies.
In his 20 seasons at the helm,
Coach Cook has compiled a 245 -95 dual meet record (a
72.06% winning percentage). His 2004-2005 team won the Salamanca
and Redbank Valley tournaments, and took second place at the
Tool City and District 10 post-season tournaments. During the
2005-2006 campaign, his team placed 4th at Tool City and third
at the Seneca Valley tournament. They were crowned District
10 Team Duals Champions and District 10 Tournament
Champions. In addition, Cook was honored as the District
10 AAA Coach of the Year! The 2006-2007 team won the District
10 AAA Tournament and posted 13 wins. Coach Cook's teams also
won back to back Mountaineer Invitational Tournaments in 2009
and 2010. In 2011 his team won the Jarvis Wildcat Memorial Tournament.
In 2012-2013 Coach Cook's team
finished the regular season at 15-0 (16-1 overall), won the
Tool City and Fred Bell Tournaments, as well as
the Clearfield Duals, the Region 4 AAA title and
the District 10 AAA Tournament title. Coach Cook was
also named the District 10 AAA Coach of the Year for
the 2012-2013 season. The Lancers also took runnerup honors
at the NW Regional AAA Tournament in Altoona. The 2013-2014
team were Region 4 AAA Co-champions and they won the NW Regional
AAA Tournament team title.
The 2014-15 season was one
of the best in McLane wrestling history. The team's overall
record was 17-3. All 3 of those losses came at the hands of
state ranked teams. The team made history by winning their first
ever match at the state team duals. They also won the Region
4 AAA crown with a spotless 9-0 record. They won the Tool City
and Fred Bell tournaments, the Clearfield Duals, the District
10 Duals and the District 10 AAA tournament title. They
capped it off with a runnerup finish at regionals and qualified
a record 7 wrestlers for the state tournament. The 2014-15 season
also saw Coach Cook surpass Coach Mulholland and become the
winningest coach in GM wrestling history. The 2015-16 team
was crowned Tool City and Fred Bell Tournament Champs and Region
4 Co-Champs!
The team moved back to AA in
2018-19 for the first time since 1982-83. They won the Region
4 title with a perfect 7-0 record, the Section 1-AA title and
placed 3rd at the District 10AA Tournament. Coach Cook's 2019-20
wrestling team had another successful season. They posted a
perfect 7-0 Region 4 record and a 14-3 overall record. They
placed 3rd at the District 10AA Team Duals and qualified for
the state team duals. They placed 2nd at sections and 4th at
districts. Coach Cook reached another milestone during the 2019-20
season when he recorded his 200th head coaching win!
The 2020-21 wrestling season was
shortened by pandemic restrictions. The team moved back to AAA,
but it was yet another successful season for Coach Cook's Lancers.
The team finished the year with a 9-3 dual meet record and were
Region runnerups. Coach Cook was named District 10 AAA Coach
of the Year by his fellow coaches! The 2021-22 season was
a challenging but rewarding year. The team was plagued by sickness
and injuries for 3/4 of the campaign, which resulted in the
first sub .500 season since Coach Cook took over the program.
Although the team finished with a 10-11 dual meet record, they
accomplished some amazing feats when they finally got healthy.
After losing to Cathedral Prep by 10 points in January, the
Lancers came back and beat the Ramblers in the District 10 AAA
Team Duals Finals and earned a berth in the PIAA Team Duals
Championships. They finished 2nd at the District 10 AAA Tournament,
crowned 2 district champs, sent 11 wrestlers to regionals and
advanced one wrestler to the state tournament. Coach Cook was
also named the District 10 AAA Coach of the Year for
the second straight year.
2022-23 saw the Lancers move back
to the AA division. The 2022-23 season was a challenging, but
ultimately successful campaign. The team was once again plagued
by injuries for nearly half the season and wasn't able to field
a healthy team until late January. In spite of that the Lancers
still knocked off a couple of state ranked teams, won in the
opening round of the District 10 Team Duals and finished the
season with a 10-5 record. They placed 3rd at the Chartiers-Huston
Invitational, took 2nd at sections, 3rd at districts and 5th
of 39 teams at regionals. Three GM wrestlers qualified for the
state tournament and two of them placed and brought medals home!
2023-24 brought another good season for the Lancers. They finished
the season with a 10-4 overall record. Three of those losses
were by 8 points or less and came at the hands of state ranked
teams. They won the Fred Bell tournament title. They were Region
4 and District 10 Tournament runnerups! Five McLane wrestlers
advanced to the PIAA Championships!
Coach Cook has coached 10 section
champions, 48 District X champions, 178 District 10 placewinners,
9 NW Regional champions, 77 NW Regional placewinners, 51 state
qualifiers, 11 state placewinners and 2 state finalists. During
the off season he also coached 7 National Folkstyle Champions
and 27 National Folkstyle Placewinners.
Coach Cook's experience, innovation
and enthusiasm are an asset to the General McLane wrestling
program.
(updated: 03-12-2024. Stats through
the 2023-2024 season).
