Ryan ‘Diesel’ Gieselman is already the winningest footbal coach in Lenoir County history — he’s now the new athletics director at Kinston High School. Photo by William ‘Bud’ Hardy / Neuse News

By Bryan Hanks

For the first time in seven years, there’s a new athletics director at Kinston High School.

Ryan “Diesel” Gieselman, the winningest football coach in Lenoir County history in his six seasons with the Vikings, assumed the AD duties July 1.

He replaces Perry Tyndall, who had been the AD at Kinston since the start of the 2012-13 academic year.

“He’s been such a great mentor to me,” Gieselman said of Tyndall. “I hope to be able to fill his shoes. There’ll be no drastic changes or anything like that, because he did such a great job. I just want us to keep on rolling.”

Tyndall has a 167-37 record (.819) and three state championships (2013, 2014, 2015) as the head coach of the Vikings’ basketball program. He said he and his wife Lauran — who have two young children — decided it was time to turn the program over.

“This was definitely a family decision,” Tyndall said. “Our kids are growing up and it was just time for me to step away. … Lauran has done an amazing job making sure our kids have been a part of all this, but

Tyndall said he’s also looking forward to giving basketball his full attention.

“Professionally, it is time for me to pursue the one passion I really love, and that’s basketball,” he said.

Gieselman said he has promoted longtime Kinston track and field and junior varsity football head coach Corey Bryant to assistant AD. Bryant, the defensive coordinator on the varsity football team, is the full-time in-school suspension coordinator at Kinston High School and a longtime supporter of Vikings athletics.

“(Bryant) is Kinston through and through; he bleeds green and gold,” Gieselman said. “I couldn’t think of anyone better to fill that position.”

Tyndall said, “I think Ryan and Corey are going to bring some new and fresh ideas and they’ll do a lot of things better than I ever did.”