In a special board meeting Thursday, the Perry School Board of Education hired Mike Ryan as the new Perry Wrestling Coach. Ryan brings 34 years of success and experience to the Perry program.
Ryan is a graduate of Tulsa Webster, where he was a 4X state qualifier and state placer, wrestling under legendary coach Ernie Jones. As a junior, Ryan qualified for the Oklahoma Junior national freestyle, competing with teammates like John Smith and Keith Walton at the Junior National Tournament. Ryan was a junior college All-American at NEO and a national qualifier at UCO, wrestling under Hall of Fame coach David James.
Ryan’s first coaching job was at Bristow, with the team quickly showing improvement and earning their first Dual State appearance. Ryan then returned to his alma mater of Tulsa Webster, serving as an assistant coach under Ernie Jones, with the team winning back-to-back state championships in 1993 and 1994. Ryan was the head coach from 1995-1999, coaching five individual state champions and leading the team to 2nd and 3rd place finishes.
Ryan then moved to Ohio, serving as an assistant coach at national powerhouse St, Paris Graham High School. During his time there, coaching wrestlers like future Olympic champion David Taylor, St. Paris Graham won 11 Ohio state titles and recognized as national champions in 2008 and 2010. For family reasons, Ryan moved back to Oklahoma in 2012, taking the job as head coach at Chandler. Ryan led Chandler to a 3rd place state finish, two appearances at Dual State, and coached three state champions, including 2X UCO national champion, Heath Gray….
