Wrestling

	Lance Baden '99
	Head Wrestling Coach lbaden@wpi.edu 508-831-6138

The 2007-2008 campaign will mark the second season for Lance Baden at the helm of the Engineer wrestling program.  A year ago Baden returned to WPI as head wrestling coach after a Hall of Fame career as a wrestler and six years as an assistant coach from 2000-2006 under the tutelage of legendary coach Phil Grebinar and Sean Nelligan.

"It's great to be back with the program; It was really hard for me to be away from it," stated Baden. "I was really honored when Sean and Dana Harmon (WPI Athletics Director) asked me to come back and lead the program.

Baden ended his distinguished wrestling career at WPI as a two-time captain and earned All-American status his sophomore year. He was also a two-time New England champion, winning the 177-pound class as a sophomore and the 184-pound class as a senior. Baden was a four-time All-New England place winner and owns a 46-11 dual meet record for a .807 percentage.

A major part of WPI record books, Baden is fourth in pins in one season (10), fifth in career pins (23), seventh in individual career points (233), eighth in dual wins (46), eighth in pin percentage in one season (.625), and ninth in career pin percentage (.404). He's also third in consecutive pins in one season (5) and fourth in pins in less than one minute in his career (4).

"There's nowhere else that I would want to coach," stated Baden. "We're highly motivated to get WPI back to the top of the division and develop as many New England Champions and All-Americans as possible.

In high school, Baden won the state title as a senior at Framingham High and after placing third in the state in his junior year. He was also a two-time sectional champion and placed fifth in New England.

Before coaching at WPI, Baden was an assistant coach at MIT during the 1999-2000. Since 1999, he has worked as a project manager at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc, based in Watertown, MA. Baden has refereed as a high school referee since 1995 and currently serves on the Executive Board of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Wrestling Officials Association.