NEW YORK — For the past five years, 133-pound Geoffrey Alexander has dedicated his life to the Terrapins wrestling team. The Pittsburgh native joined the Terps in 2011 and had an immediate impact, making a run to the ACC finals in his first season. But he wasn’t done, notching third- and fifth-place finishes in the conference tournament before the program switched to the Big Ten.
Alexander’s dedication has paid off to the tune of 100 career victories, and coach Kerry McCoy said he’s one of only a handful of Terps in recent memory to qualify for four NCAA Tournaments. Despite a series of injuries in his redshirt senior season, Alexander continued to grind through matches and lead his teammates.
“He’s a warrior, and he’s been a warrior since he stepped onto this campus,” McCoy said.
But Alexander’s career came to a halt Friday at the NCAA Tournament. Competing in the consolation bracket of the tournament against 133-pound Jamal Morris of N.C. State, Alexander was taken down in extra time, an abrupt ending to a five-year career.
“It’s been an incredible career,” Alexander said. “I’ll go down as one of the best wrestlers in the school’s history and one of the hardest workers. My coaches and teammates can vouch for me on that.”
Now Alexander will turn his attention toward the future after having wrestling as a part of his life for the past 18 years.
“I’m just going to sit down and evaluate my life,” Alexander said. “Where am I? Where to now?”
For the remainder of his time in College Park, Alexander plans to stick around the Terps wrestling room, helping his teammates while he finishes his degree in criminology and criminal justice.
Alexander said he has a number of potential job opportunities across the East Coast, including in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
In addition, Alexander hopes to stick around wrestling in some capacity with his brother, 157-pound Justin Alexander, on the team.
He’s also expressed interest in getting into coaching at the high-school ranks to help train young grapplers and give back to the community.
“I think he could be a really good coach,” McCoy said. “He may stick around and coach or something in that capacity.”
McCoy’s foremost concern regarding Alexander is his health. After battling neck and shoulder issues for more than a year, the coach believes it would be best for Alexander to take some time off from wrestling to recover.
“The way his body is talking to him, he should take some time, get away from the sport a little bit and help his body heal up,” McCoy said. “He’s always going to be a workout guy, but not coming in and grinding three or four hours a week of banging heads.”
But McCoy added wrestling likely will still be a part of Alexander’s life for years to come, whether as a coach or as a fan.
And after seeing the work ethic Alexander brought to his team, McCoy has confidence his captain will find success — in Baltimore, Pittsburgh or elsewhere.
“He really shows that if you make the commitment and do what’s asked of you, you can have success,” McCoy said. “He set the standard for how to work in the wrestling room. A lot of guys looked up to him for that, and I think he’ll continue that work.”
