Wrestling Coaches

Dave Amato, the winningest coach in Brown University wrestling history, has been the head coach of the Bears since 1983 and is entering his 30th season at the helm of the Bears. Under Amato's watchful eye, the Brown program has become one of the most respected in the East.

In 2001-2002 Amato recorded his 300th win as a head coach, and he now has a record of 370-289-7. Amato has coached two Ivy League Wrestlers of the Year, two-time winner Bob Hill '88 (1987, 1988) and Willie Carpenter '97 (1996), and three Ivy Rookies of the Year, E.C. Muelhaupt '89 (1986), Carpenter (1993), and Bronson Lingamfelter '02 (1999). Ten of his wrestlers have captured EIWA Championships, while two have been named Outstanding Wrestler at the Tournament. His wrestlers have placed 116 times at EIWAs. A total of 27 of Amato's Bears have earned First Team All-Ivy honors 44 times, including fourtime All-Ivy Joe Mocco '93. Two of Amato's grapplers have earned All-American recognition, Carpenter in 1996 and Tivon Abel '98 in 1998.

In 1992, Amato was named EIWA Coach of the Year after he led the Bears to a record 19 victories and saw four Brown wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships. In 1993, Brown sent a record-setting six grapplers to the NCAAs, the most ever in Amato's career. In 1999-2000, five Bears qualified for the NCAA's.

Amato's teams have also always performed well in the classroom. In 2005 and 2006, Brown's wrestling team was honored for having the country's highest GPA by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. In 2007, the Bears ranked third in the nation, but the team's GPA was still better than it was the previous year.

A 1973 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amato had an excellent academic and athletic record at the school. He was a Dean's List student as a junior and senior, won the New England 118-pound championship on two occasions, and was named the Outstanding Wrestler in New England in 1973.

After graduating from Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education, Amato entered the University of Rhode Island and earned a Master's degree in Physical Education in 1975. He remained active in wrestling, winning the New England 125 1/2-pound championship in 1974 and 1975. He also served as an assistant varsity wrestling coach at URI for one year, and was an assistant at Warwick High School in 1975, helping his team win the state championship.

Amato became head wrestling coach at Potsdam State in 1975, and in his one year there, he led Potsdam to an 8-7 record and an eighth-place NCAA Division III finish. He coached two All-Americans and one national champion, and was the runner-up in the balloting for Collegiate Rookie Coach of the Year.

He returned to the University of Massachusetts as head coach in 1976, leading the Minutemen to the number three ranking in New England his first two years and the number two ranking in his next two. He compiled a 52-33-3 dual meet record in his five years in Amherst, and was named the New England Coach of the Year in both 1979 and 1980.

Amato left the collegiate ranks in 1981 and served two years as a health and physical education teacher at Wayland (MA) High School. He taught a wide range of activities and coached wrestling as well as girls' track and soccer. In addition, he served as the co-director of the Boston College Wrestling School.

A strong proponent of educating people about wrestling, Amato sponsors several clinics each year at Brown on the sport.

Coach Dave Amato's Record at Brown:

Total at Brown: 310-249-4

Overall: 370-289-7

John Clark begins his fifth season as an assistant coach at Brown. Clark, a two-time All-American and 2004 graduate of Ohio State, has spent one season each coaching at Stanford and Lehigh. He serves as the recruiting coordinator and works with wrestlers from 157 pounds and up. Before coming to Brown, Clark was the head coach of the Lehigh Valley Athletic Club in addition to his duties as an assistant at Lehigh. He worked primarily with the Mountain Hawks' middleweights. It was his second season as an assistant coach, after one year at Stanford.

In four seasons at Ohio State, Clark was a four-time NCAA qualifier. He was a two-time All-American at 165 pounds, finishing sixth in his junior year and fifth as a senior. He was the runner-up at 165 at the Big Ten Championship in 2002 and 2004. He is ranked fourth all-time at Ohio State in wins with 134, and is ranked third in takedowns (486) and team points (432.0). He graduated in 2004 with a degree in Sociology, spending a year in sales before joining the Stanford staff.

Assistant coach Tyler Grayson began his coaching career with the Bears in late August of 2011. A four-year letterwinner at Central Michigan, Grayson was an NCAA Qualifier (Round of 12) in 2010 with the Chippewas and a 2010 Mid-American Conference Champion. He lastly served as an assistant coach at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan., a program that boasts eight National Championships and 45 All-Americans at the JUCO level.

"We feel very lucky to add someone of Tyler's caliber to the Brown wrestling program," said Amato. "He brings a great deal of Division I experience and will add an extremely technical coach to our staff." 

Last season at Neosho CCC, Grayson helped guide the Panthers to a sixth-place tie as a team at the NJCAA Districts, and qualified four wrestlers for Nationals. 

A native of Gladstone, Mo., Grayson headed North to Central Michigan where he compiled 31 wins in his first three seasons. His senior year he finished with a 20-7 overall mark and 13-2 dual meet record on his way to a conference championship at 165 pounds.

Grayson is also a two-time Midlands placer (sixth & eighth), two-time University Nationals placer (second & seventh) and an All-American and two-time state champion at the high school level. 

Mehdi Kaveh has been a volunteer assistant coach with the Brown wrestling team since 2004, coming to the Bears after competing with the Iranian National Team from 1988-2001, a span of 13 years.  Kaveh was a four-time Iranian National Champion during that time, and also won the Goodwill Games.

"With Mehdi's vast international experience, he brings a wealth of knowledge and world class technique to our program," said assistant coach John Clark upon Kaveh's arrival.

Kaveh and his wife Samira have one son, Ali, and reside in Worcester, Mass.