Oklahoma wrestling announces hire of Mark Hall as Director of Operations

Oklahoma wrestling announced the hire of former Penn State wrestling national champion Mark Hall as the new Director of Operations.

Hall recently retired from competition, following the 2024 Olympic Trials in April. Now, he’ll take a new staff job far away from the state of Pennsylvania.

Hall thanked Sooners’ head coach Roger Kish for the opportunity.

“I am beyond grateful to Coach Kish for this opportunity to join him and the rest of the staff,” Hall said, via a release. “Oklahoma wrestling has a strong, storied tradition of success, and I look forward to working alongside the talented staff and athletes to uphold that standard while helping them achieve their dreams.”

As Oklahoma rebuilds, Hall is a great addition to one of the Big 12’s premier programs.

“We are excited to welcome Mark to our program,” Kish said. “Throughout our two-month long process, he continuously showed us how he could help Oklahoma wrestling reach new heights. His passion for the sport combined with his experience at the highest level of wrestling will be a huge asset in moving our program forward. Mark has an excellent reputation in the wrestling world, and we are thrilled to call him a Sooner.”

Hall had a storied wrestling career since his younger days. The 27-year-old was a six-time state champion in Minnesota, winning high school titles while he was in 7th and 8th grade.

It translated immediately at Penn State during his collegiate career. As a freshman in 2016-17, Hall was expected to redshirt but head coach Cael Sanderson was impressed.

The Nittany Lions ultimately pulled his redshirt and he ended up making a run, winning an NCAA title at 174 pounds. He beat Ohio State’s Bo Jordan after upsetting future rival Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) in the semifinals.

The following year, Hall was undefeated going into the NCAA finals. He would wrestle Valencia once again, but the latter got the 8-2 decision, making Hall the runner-up.

The two would clash again, twice, in 2018-19. Hall beat him 4-0 in the regular season but fell 4-3 in the NCAA finals, giving him his only loss of the year.

Hall was a three-time NCAA finalist, winning the title in 2017. Despite a 22-1 record and No. 1 seed in 2020, Hall did not get to compete at NCAAs. The tournament was canceled at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hall finished his collegiate career with a 115-6 record, becoming one of the most decorated wrestlers in team history.

With his college career over, Hall focused solely on freestyle wrestling. He won the US Open in 2021 and eventually a World Cup in 2022.

However, he did not make an Olympic team during his career. He joined the Penn coaching staff in 2021 as an assistant coach and trained at the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center.