May 27, 2016
Molinaro Bio
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's gymnastics head coach Jeff Thompson has announced the hiring of Kera Molinaro as assistant coach on Friday, May 27. Molinaro spent the past two seasons coaching in the Nittany Lion program.
"It is with great enthusiasm that we announce Kera Molinaro as our new assistant coach," Thompson said. "Kera is an excellent addition to our full-time staff and has demonstrated coaching success at Oregon State and Rutgers and familiarity with the Big Ten. Her two seasons with our team as a volunteer coach and interim assistant coach will make for an easy transition and provide continuity for our student-athletes. Kera is an excellent teacher with strong recruiting ties and I am excited about continuing to work together to help our gymnasts reach their goals."
"It is an honor and a privilege to represent and contribute to the Penn State women's gymnastics team," Molinaro said. "Penn State has an amazing pedigree to its academics and an unprecedented level of excellence across the board. We have an amazing group of student-athletes and I am so grateful for the opportunity to join head coach Jeff Thompson in our efforts to help these young women excel in the classroom and on the competition floor."
Molinaro enters her 12th season involved with collegiate gymnastics, which includes two years (2010-11) as the volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater, Oregon State, and three seasons (2012-14) on the coaching staff at Rutgers. She competed for the Beavers from 2006-09 and helped them to four consecutive appearances at the NCAA Championships.
A native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Molinaro served three years as an assistant coach at Rutgers prior to arriving at Penn State. She had an immediate impact on the Scarlet Knights' program, helping it earn a berth at the 2014 NCAA Regional Championships. The NCAA Regional appearance was the program's first since 2007.
During her time on the Oregon State coaching staff, she helped oversee the Beavers strength and conditioning program and assisted with instruction on all four events, with an emphasis on the balance beam.
A standout on the floor exercise during her time as a student-athlete in Corvallis, Molinaro helped the Beavers to the NCAA Championships during each of her four seasons on campus. She began her collegiate gymnastics career as a walk-on and earned a scholarship following her freshman season. She was a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection and earned NACGC Scholastic All-American honors once in her career.
The former Kera Bolen is married to Frank Molinaro, a former Penn State All-American wrestler, who is an assistant coach with the Penn State wrestling program. She earned her bachelor's degree in exercise and sport science, with a minor in psychology, from Oregon State in 2009.