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WILKES-BARRE – Wilkes University athletic director Scott Musa announced the addition of women’s wrestling to the roster of intercollegiate athletics during a formal press conference Wednesday morning at the Martz Center.
To watch the full press conference, click here.
“Wilkes High School has a proud history in the sport, having won its first boys’ wrestling national championship (in 1974), so adding a girls’ program to that history made perfect sense for us,” Musa said. “Girls’ wrestling is one of the fastest growing girls’ sports in high school and it fits perfectly into our culture,” he added.
The addition of women’s wrestling increases the number of intercollegiate sports offered at Wilkes to 24, and makes Wilkes the first university in the Landmark Conference to offer the sport. The program will begin competition in the 2025-26 season. Musa also promoted John Laudenslager to director of wrestling and announced the addition of 2017 graduate Pankil Chander as associate head coach for men’s wrestling as the makeup of Wilkes’ wrestling staff undergoes a transformation. Next year, Wilkes plans to hire an additional full-time associate head coach for women’s wrestling to complete the staff makeup.
Wilkes will join 51 universities with women’s wrestling programs competing in 2022-23, with more than 70 schools reporting their intention to sponsor the sport in 2023-24. Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation and was designated an NCAA emerging sport in 2020-21. Women’s wrestling is slated to become the 91st NCAA championship sport, with the first NCAA championship scheduled to take place in the winter of 2026. Current NCAA women’s wrestlers will compete in a season-ending national tournament hosted by the Association of Wrestling Organizations.
“With the NCAA sponsoring the national championships starting in 2026, women will be able to participate in the championships on an equal footing with men,” Musa noted. “This was another key factor in the decision to add women’s wrestling now,” he added.
“On behalf of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Board of Directors, we are excited to see Wilkes University bring a women’s intercollegiate wrestling program to its athletic department,” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. “Wilkes University already has a very rich history in men’s wrestling (and university sports in general), and there is no doubt that women’s intercollegiate wrestling will contribute greatly to this tradition. Anytime we have an additional opportunity for young women to compete in a sport, we should all celebrate, and we want to thank the Wilkes University administration for recognizing the educational value of providing these opportunities.”
Laudenslager is the longest-tenured head coach on the staff, having led the Wilkes boys wrestling program to nearly 300 dual wins during his 22 years at the helm, and will now be responsible for recruiting for both the men’s and women’s in his new role overseeing both the program and staff.
“Our coaching structure, led by Director of Wrestling John Laudenslager, with full-time assistants in both the boys and girls programs, will position us for success,” Musa explained. “John is an excellent coach and mentor who will recruit women to Wilkes who will excel academically, athletically and socially. With our boys’ associate head coach, Pankil Chander, already in place, we can now focus the coming year on identifying a girls’ associate head coaching candidate who is ready to help John provide our girls with the same great experience our male student-athletes enjoy.”
“We are excited to further enhance the Wilkes wrestling brand and family with the addition of women’s wrestling,” Laudenslager said, “With women’s wrestling being an Olympic sport and the NCAA set to host championships next year, we think the timing is perfect. Women’s wrestling will give women the same opportunities that men have pursued for years.”
Chandor is no stranger to Wilkes, having graduated in 2017 after a stellar four-year career on the mat. Most recently, he served as head coach at Pennsylvania Tech since June 2022. Under his direction, the Wildcats earned their first-ever team national ranking from the NWCA in 2023-24 and became the first program in Penn Tech history to advance to the NCAA Championships. Chandor also coached the team to its first-ever dual winning record and first-ever season with two top-five tournament appearances, including a team win at the 2023 RIT Invitational.
Prior to arriving at Penn, Chander enjoyed success as a graduate assistant wrestling coach at Springfield College while pursuing his master’s degree in 2020. In two seasons, he coached 12 NWCA All-Americans and eight NCAA Northeast Regional medalists and led wrestlers to a top-12 finish at the 2022 NCAA DIII Championships.
In August 2018, Chander was named assistant wrestling coach at Gettysburg College where he coached three NWCA Scholar All-Americans, one NCAA Division III qualifier and seven NCAA Southeast Regional winners, while also helping the team earn its first-ever promotion in the NWCA team rankings.
During his tenure with the Colonel, Chander compiled a career record of 91-50 and won the 141-pound weight class at the Wilkes Open in 2015. Chander was also named an NWCA Scholar All-American and was a starter on the team that won the Division III East Regional Championship in 2014. He went on to earn his master’s degree in sports administration from Springfield College in 2022.
“Having Pankil return as associate head coach will be an immediate strengthening for our men’s team as he is a Colonel Wilkes alumnus,” Laudenslager noted. “He understands our history, our proud traditions and has a proven track record as a coach at the collegiate level.”
