American University

Joey Dance joined the American University wrestling staff as an assistant coach in September, 2021, and enters his fifth season with the program in 2025.

Dance has been a critical part of Jason Borrelli’s staff for each season of AU’s turnaround from one win in 2021-22 to 11 wins in 2024-25, making his most significant impact on the team’s lightweight wrestlers. He’s helped send two 133-pounders to the NCAA Tournament, and most recently helped guide Raymond Lopez to the best season of his career so far. The junior led the team in dual points (59), pins (11), and won a career-high 22 matches. Dance also oversaw the development of Coen Bainey and JJ Peace last season, as the pair of freshmen combined for 28 wins (12 dual wins) at 125 pounds. Bainey represented AU at the EIWA Championships, finishing on the podium in sixth after a 3-3 showing on the weekend. 

The 2023-24 season marked the second in a row that Dance helped coach an NCAA qualifier, as Maximilian Leete (133 pounds) placed fifth at the EIWA Championships to earn an automatic spot.

In his second season at AU, Dance helped coach sophomore Jack Maida (133 pounds) to a fifth-place finish at the EIWA Championships and a qualifying spot at the NCAA Championships. With Dance's guidance, Maida was a placewinner at the EIWA Championships in all three years of his career before redshirting in 2024 due to injury. The Eagles went from a single dual win in 2021-22 to eight dual wins in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, and they ranked 15th overall in NCAA Division I team GPA in 2021-22 with five NWCA Scholar All-Americans.

Dance came to AU after three years as an assistant coach at Davidson. While in North Carolina, he assisted in the hire of the program's first-ever full-time second assistant coach. The 2019 Wildcats tied for the most points ever scored by a Davidson team at the conference championships, and eight wrestlers achieved SOCON All-Academic recognition. Dance coached three of the top-three conference finishers, three academic All-SOCON team members, three who made the All-SOCON Freshman Team and NCWA Scholar All-American Kyle Gorant.
 
As a two-time All-American at Virginia Tech, Dance posted a career mark of 114-20 and lost just a single ACC bout in four seasons. He was a three-time ACC Champion and qualified for the NCAA Championships all four years of his career. Dance was both a fourth and a fifth-place finisher at the NCAA Championships, and is one of only two 125-pound All-Americans for Virginia Tech. In 2014, he was the ACC Freshman of the year as well as the Midlands Champion, and in 2016 he was the Cliff Keen Champion.

Dance is ranked fourth at VT with a career winning percentage of 85.0, and fifth in single-season dual wins with 18. His 114 career wins rank seventh, as does his NCAA winning percentage of 63.6. 
 
Dance graduated from Virginia Tech in 2017 and went on to compete at the Chicago Regional Training Center (CRTC) in national and international competitions. He also helped instruct fellow CRTC athletes by demonstrating technique and prepping them for competition. Dance started Push Wrestling to help organize and market clinics for local elementary, middle and high school-aged kids.

Dance and his wife, Sarah Jean-Duffau Dance, reside in Falls Church, Va. The pair were married in June, 2020.