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Get To Know Maryland Wrestling Assistant Coach and Rider Wrestling Alumni, Ethan Laird
Name: Ethan Laird
Hometown: McKean, Pennsylvania
High School: General McLane High School
Sport: Wrestling
Weight: 197 pounds and 285 pounds (college)
High School Accolades: Three-sport athlete in baseball, football, and wrestling for the General McLane Lancers. Laird set the all-time wins record with 138 victories. He was also a four-time PIAA state qualifier, a two-time District 10 champion, a one-time region champion, and a PIAA state runner-up at 195 as a senior in 2017. Laird was also named a three-time academic all-state performer and was named all-region in both baseball and football in high school. He also was named all-state in Class 5A as a defensive back in the 2016 season.
College: Rider University. Rider is located in Lawrence Township, New Jersey and competes in NCAA Division I. The Broncs are members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in wrestling. The private institution is home to nearly 3,700 students.
Why He Chose Rider: “I could tell from the beginning of the recruiting process that Coach John Hangey and Coach Nic Bedelyon were my kind of guys and were guys I’d like to wrestle for.”
Degrees: Laird earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and added a master’s degree in business administration (MBA)
College Accolades: Laird wrestled for the Rider Broncs for six seasons. He was a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier (three times at 197 and once at 285), won 100 career matches, became Rider’s 19th career All-American after finishing sixth in the country in the 2022-23 season, placed second in the MAC at heavyweight in the 2020-21 season, won the MAC title at 197 in the 2022-23 season, was named a National Wrestlng Coaches Association (NWCA) All-American Honorable Mention in the 2019-20 season. He unfortunately did not get to wrestle in nationals this season because of COVID-19. Laird was also named an NWCA Scholar All-American and took home third-place at World Team Trials at 97 kilograms in 2022.
Current Position: Assistant Wrestling Coach for the University of Maryland Terrapins. “I realized I wanted to coach pretty early on in my college career; when I was going to a bunch of classes and not enjoying any of them. I’d then go to practice and see how much my coaches enjoyed their job and I knew that’s what I wanted. Coaching in the Big 10 Conference is an awesome opportunity since it’s the premiere conference in NCAA wrestling. However, coaching at Maryland makes it even better to me because we’re in a position where we’re about to break through and rise up the ranks of the Big 10. I can’t wait to be part of it.”
Favorite Athletic Memories: “There’s a lot of specific games and matches from high school and college that were big moments in my career, but my top memories are always Friday night football games and traveling everywhere with my teammates and friends for wrestling.”
Family Ties to College Athletics: Laird’s older brother. Chris, wrestled for the Edinboro Fighting Scots at the NCAA Division I level.
His Support System: “My whole immediate family; my parents Lisa and Phil and three brothers Chris, Nate, and Chuck. They’ve seen all my highs and lows and always continued to support me throughout my entire athletic career. My high school coach, Ryan Cook, also deserves recognition because he really pushed me to love wrestling in high school.”
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