PHILADELPHIA – The torch is being passed from Penn wrestling’s all-time winningest coach to its all-time winningest student-athlete.
After serving as the Joshua J. Harris Associate Head Coach for the 2024-25 season, Matt Valenti C’07 will assume the reigns of the program from Roger Reina C’84 immediately, while Reina will serve as Head Coach Emeritus for his final year of coaching during the 2025-26 campaign.
Under the guidance of Reina and Valenti, Penn posted a stellar 2024-25 season, going 10-6 in dual action, with a second-place finish in the Ivy League off a 4-1 dual record. At the inaugural 2025 Ivy League Wrestling Championships, Ryan Miller (133), CJ Composto (141), and Cross Wasilewski (149) earned individual titles, with eight other Quakers taking spots on the podium.
Max Gallagher (125), senior Miller, junior Composto, freshman Wasilewski, Jude Swisher (157), and Maximus Hale (184) earned automatic bids, and Nick Incontrera (174) earned an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, where Composto earned his second All-America honor off a fourth-place finish at 141.
Valenti is the program’s career leader in wins (137) and won NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007 at 133 pounds. He was a three-time NCAA All-American, a three-time EIWA champion, a three-time first-team All-Ivy selection, and the 2007 Ivy League Wrestler of the Year. Valenti was inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017 and the EIWA Hall of Fame in 2014.
Reina, also a member of the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame, will conclude his coaching career following the 2025-26 season as one of the most successful coaches in NCAA wrestling history. Following the 2024-25 season, Reina’s career record is 258-150 (.632).
He initially led the Quakers from 1986-2005 and amassed a program-record 205 wins during his first tenure coaching at his alma mater, which began at the age of 24 as the youngest head coach in program history. He guided the Quakers to four consecutive EIWA championships, including setting records for most points scored and the largest margin of victory that stands today.
Since returning as Penn’s head coach in 2017, Reina has guided Penn back into the top 20 national rankings. The seven Quakers recently qualified for the 2025 NCAA Championships, which makes it a total of 32 qualifiers in the past four years. The program has compiled a 16-4 Ivy League record since the pandemic (2021-25) and risen as high as #18 in the national rankings.
During his career, Reina has coached 20 All-Americans, 130 All-Ivy honorees, 113 NCAA qualifiers, 145 EIWA place-winners, 32 EIWA champions, ten Ivy League place-winners, three Ivy League Champions, five Ivy League Wrestlers of the Year, and five Ivy League Rookies of the Year.
Reina was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania chapter, for lifetime service in 2017. He has received the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s highest awards, including Meritorious Service and Bob Bubb Coaching Excellence Award, and served as the Association’s President.
In conjunction with this transition, Penn Wrestling will be announcing a significant fundraising campaign to further cement the foundation of excellence in perpetuity for the program
