Elizabethtown College Athletics

Eric Walker, a two-time NCAA Division III Mideast Region Coach of the Year (2012-13, 2023-24), returns for his 22nd season with the Elizabethtown College wrestling program in 2025-26.

Walker has revitalized the Blue Jays, putting an emphatic stamp on his first 10 years as head coach by leading the them to the inaugural NCAA Division III Mideast Region Championship in 2013.

The Elizabethtown, Pa. native is the second-longest tenured coach in the program history and has sent wrestlers to the NCAA Division III Championships in 11 different seasons.

Walker guided the Blue Jays to the program's best dual record winning percent (.917) in 2023-24 with an 11-1 record, including a win over nationally-ranked Alvernia. Etown went on to place 7 wrestlers at the 2024 Div. III Mideast Regional, the most ever for the program. The Jays would finish 3rd overall with 115.5 points, the most points put up by an Elizabethtown team at the regional meet.

Dylan Waller became Walker's third regional champion, winning the 285-pound bracket, and along with 3 others, qualified for the 2024 national championships. Waller would go to earn All-America honors at 285, the 22nd All-American in program history and the best finish for a heavyweight in Etown program history. 

Walker was one of the instrumental players in Elizabethtown College winning the bid to host the 2015 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at GIANT Center in Hershey. The tournament was a rousing success with over 9,000 tickets sold, making it the third-highest attended Division III Championships at the time.

From 2010-13, Elizabethtown won 28-of-39 duals, including 11 victories in 2010-11 and 2011-12, the most in a season by a Walker-led team.

Elizabethtown was a powerhouse under long-time head coach D. Kenneth Ober, but Walker was tasked with rebuilding that tradition when he took over prior to the 2003-04 season. The Blue Jays were coming off back-to-back winless campaigns.

The 2000 Lycoming College alum and two-time Middle Atlantic Conference Champion battled through early adversity to bring E-town its first winning season in duals since 1999-2000 with a 6-5 record in 2006-07.

While the pieces didn't fall into place for the team to complete a fifth straight winning season in 2013-14, individuals still attained success. Junior 174-pounder Woodie Hermann placed runner-up at the Mideast Regional Championships to qualify for nationals. Heavyweight Jeremy Rieth, a 2013 All-American, and Chad Lammer, a 2013 national qualifier, both won their weight classes at the MAC Championships.

In 2012-13, the Blue Jays once again let the national spotlight shine on them. Freshman Jesse Meaney won the 141-pound weight class at the NCAA Division III Mideast Region Championships and five wrestlers qualified for the national tournament. Junior Julian Meaney and Rieth brought home All-American finishes at 184 and 285 pounds, giving the program two All-Americans for the second consecutive season.

Elizabethtown featured two All-Americans in the same season for the first time in Walker's tenure in 2011-12 when Bill Meaney took seventh at 197 pounds at the NCAA DIII Championships in La Crosse, Wis., and current assistant coach Quint Eno, like Walker, an Elizabethtown native, placed eighth at 165. Both won their respective weight classes at the Metropolitan Wrestling Conference Championships.

Walker has coached nine wrestlers to All-American status, including Tyler Erdman (2008-09 and 2009-10). Erdman was the national runner-up in the 125-pound weight class at the 2010 NCAA DIII Championships.

Elizabethtown owned wins over four nationally-ranked teams in 2011-12: No. 22 Delaware Valley, No. 25 Centenary (N.J.), No. 26 Stevens Tech and No. 30 The College of New Jersey. The Blue Jays were ranked as high as 21st during the regular season and held the 28th position in the final Brute-Adidas NWCA Division III Rankings.

Hosts of the 2012 MWC Championships, E-town finished fourth of nine teams, its second-best finish at the conference meet with Walker on the bench.

In 2010-11, the Jays were ranked as high as 20th, marking the second straight season the program found itself amongst the country’s elite. Walker’s grapplers won 11 dual matches, including three against ranked opponents. The 11 dual wins were the most for the College since 1999-2000.

Competing in the always tough Metropolitan Wrestling Conference, E-town wrestled its way to a fifth place finish at the conference championships in 2010-11, after finishing third in 2009-10.

Walker's 2009-10 team found itself ranked 20th in the final Brute-Adidas NWCA Division III National Poll after compiling an 8-5 record in dual matches. Elizabethtown also took first place at the Messiah Invitational and finished 17th of 59 teams at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. The 17th place finish at nationals was a program best since 1995, when the Jays also finished 17th.

In February 2005, Walker was named the Middle Atlantic Conference's Co-Coach of the Year after guiding the Blue Jays to a sixth place finish at the MAC Championships, sending a wrestler to the NCAA Division III Championships for the first time since 2000 and having an E-town wrestler win a MAC individual weight class title for the first time since 1998.

He guided a young 2006-07 team to historically significant wins over Lycoming and Messiah. In 2007-08, the Blue Jays finished with a 6-9 record and tied for seventh at the MWC Championships.

The coach since 2003, Walker joined Elizabethtown College on a full-time basis in November of 2005. In addition to his role as the wrestling coach, Walker plays a large hand in event management for many of Elizabethtown’s athletic contests and serves as the equipment manager.

In the few years before taking the head position at E-town, Walker served as an assistant wrestling coach at nearby Franklin & Marshall College, which, despite being a small school that does not offer athletic scholarships, competes at the NCAA Division I level in wrestling. There, he helped rebuild F&M's wrestling program following a 2-17 dual record in 2000-01.

In his first season as an assistant at F&M in 2001-02, the team finished 7-15, and in his second season, the Dips reached double-figure wins by going 10-12. The win total was F&M's highest since the 1991-92 season.

Walker was heavily relied upon for his recruiting responsibilities at F&M, as well as his work with athletes directly on the mat and behind the scenes. Prior to serving as an assistant at F&M, he was a volunteer assistant coach at both Elizabethtown Area High School and Penn Manor High School in 2000-01.

A 2000 alumnus of Lycoming, Walker double majored in economics and marketing. Walker ranks second amongst Warriors all-time with 119 career victories, and was a Middle Atlantic Conference finalist all four years of his collegiate career. He claimed a pair of MAC titles in 1997 and 2000, also earning the MAC's Outstanding Wrestler Award in 2000.

Walker notched All-America honors as a senior in 2000 with a third-place finish at the 165 pounds. He qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships three times over the course of his career, and was inducted into the Lycoming Hall of Fame in the fall of 2008.

As a scholastic wrestler at Elizabethtown Area High School, Walker won 86 bouts and placed among the top-eight at the PIAA Championships in 1996.
 
NCAA Division III All-Americans (9)
Conference Champions (9) Jesse Meaney, 2012-13 (141 lbs.)
Luke Fernandez, 2015-16 (197 lbs.)
Dylan Waller, 2023-24 (285 lbs.)

• Led E-town to highest team finish at nationals since 1980 (12th in 2013)
• Program's best dual season winning percentage in 2023-24 (11-1, .917)
• 13 dual wins over nationally-ranked opponents
• NCAA Division III Mideast Region Champions: 2013
• Messiah Invitational Team Champions: 2009, 2022
• Highest finish at conference championships (3rd at MWC's in 2009-10) since 1997-98
 

Eric Walker Year-by-Year Record
	Duals						Championships
	Overall			Conference
Year	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Regional Finish	NCAA Finish
2003-04	1	16	.059	0	7	.000	-	-
2004-05	0	15	.000	0	7	.000	-	T-49th/60
2005-06	3	14	.214	1	6	.143	-	-
2006-07	6	5	.545	Independent		-	10th/15	-
2007-08	6	9	.400	1	3	.250	-	-
2008-09	5	12	.294	2	6	.250	-	T-36th/62
2009-10	8	5	.615	3	2	.600	-	17th/59
2010-11	11	2	.786	5	2	.714	-	-
2011-12	11	6	.647	5	2	.714	-	T-25th/62
2012-13	6	3	.667	2	2	.500	1st/15	12th/64
2013-14	3	9	.250	1	2	.333	12th/17	54th/65
2014-15	5	12	.294	Independent		-	14th/18	-
2015-16	6	8	.429	Independent		-	T-12th/18	T-51st/58
2016-17	2	13	.133	Independent		-	13th/19	-
2017-18	6	6	.500	Independent		-	10th/17	T-27th/52
2018-19	2	10	.167	Independent		-	13th/17	-
2019-20	3	3	.500	Independent		-	12th/18	-
2020-21	-	-	-	Independent		-	-	Canceled (COVID)
2021-22	7	7	.500	Independent		-	16th/20	-
2022-23	10	6	.625	Independent		-	7th/21	47th/51
2023-24	11	1	.917	Independent		-	3rd/21	30th/66
2024-25	7	5	.583	Independent		-	7th/18	T26th/75
21 seasons	119	167	.416	20	39	.339

Updated 5/21/25