The ISU wrestling team has a new assistant coach.

ISU wrestling coach Kevin Jackson announced Friday that 2009 NCAA Champion Troy Nickerson will join his staff as an assistant coach. Nickerson wrestled at Cornell University, where he went 97-8 in his career.

“[Nickerson] was a perfect fit for us,” Jackson said in a news release. “His major role will be to solidify the lighter weights on our team. He is a very intelligent guy, having wrestled on an Ivy League team with a top-notch wrestling tradition. It became obvious in his interview that he was the right man for the job.”

The lighter weights were wrestled by a young lineup during the 2011-12 season as the Cyclones sent a freshman out to the mat in each of those weights at some point during the year.

During his time at Cornell, Nickerson was a four-time All-American and was an NCAA finalist two times. Nickerson said in the news release that he feels he can bring a new perspective to the program.

“I think I bring some youth and a different perspective coming from the east coast and Cornell,” Nickerson said. “I’m going to be able to bring in a lot of east coast recruiting and just a different perspective to the Big 12 kind of training philosophy.”

An assistant position opened on the ISU wrestling staff after Yero Washington announced in March he would leave his position with the team. Washington is leaving to become the executive director for a non-profit wrestling organization in Los Angeles.