Cliff Moore

2023 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee

Four trips to the state high school wrestling tournament finals with three state championships, followed by an NCAA Division I title, international freestyle wrestling bouts overseas, and now a successful career as a veteran college coach, this is the legacy of Cliff Moore. Despite all his successes, Moore admits he hadn’t originally set out to make wrestling his career, explaining, “It just simply becomes your calling.”

Moore saw early success as a freshman with his Dubuque Hempstead team when he reached the 103-pound championship match, only to lose for the second time that season. Both of those losses came against Iowa City’s Joe Lucchi and were the only two defeats Moore suffered as a high school wrestler. As a sophomore, Moore won the 112-pound 3A title, followed by the 119-pound title as a junior. He capped off his high school career with his third consecutive undefeated season, claiming the 125-pound state title. Back in the days when 100 high school wins was a major achievement, Moore finished with an impressive 139-2 record.

Moore then attended the University of Iowa, where he wrestled under 1994 IWHOF inductee Coach Jim Zalesky. During his redshirt freshman year, Moore compiled a 17-3 record, followed by a 28-10 sophomore season, earning his first All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at 133 pounds. He repeated his sixth-place finish as a junior at the same weight, posting an impressive 31-9 record and capturing a Big Ten title.

Moving up to 141 pounds for his senior year, Moore went 33-2 and claimed the NCAA national title by defeating Nebraska’s Matt Murray 5-2. He ended his Iowa career on a 20-match winning streak, finishing with a remarkable 109-24 record, two Big Ten titles, three All-American honors, and an NCAA Division I championship.

Moore remained with the Iowa wrestling program for two more years, serving as a strength and conditioning coach for one year and as an administrative assistant in his second year. During that time, he placed third at the World Team Trials at 60 kg, securing a spot on the 2006 USA Freestyle National Team.

From there, Moore spent 12 years at Edinboro University, helping Coach Tim Flynn build the Fighting Scots into a wrestling powerhouse. Specializing in training lighter weight classes, he played a key role in developing two NCAA champions, seven
NCAA finalists, and 21 All-Americans.

In 2018, Moore was named assistant head coach at West Virginia, where he has helped the Mountaineers steadily improve. In 2023, the program produced six NCAA qualifiers, with one wrestler earning All-American honors. That All-American finish marked a school record, as it was the fourth consecutive year the program had at least one All-American. The previous two years saw the Mountaineers qualify four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.

Moore was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2023 with Ken Gallagher, Dan McCool, and Jason Christenson.