JohnMark BentleyBOONE, N.C. -- Appalachian State director of athletics Doug Gillin announced a new three-year contract for Appalachian State wrestling head coach JohnMark Bentley on Friday. The new three-year deal begins on July 1, 2017 and runs through July 30, 2020.
"I am excited that JohnMark Bentley will remain the leader of our wrestling program," Gillin said. "The growth and success of the program under JohnMark in both the Southern Conference and at the national level continues to be impressive.
On top of all of the success on the mat, I am especially proud of the commitment that our wrestling program makes to campus and community involvement as well as its work in the classroom," Gillin continued. "I'm thankful to Coach Bentley for his continued commitment to Appalachian State and am thrilled that he and his family will remain a part of the Appalachian family."
A three-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, Bentley has been at the helm of Appalachian State wrestling for the past nine years, guiding them to three SoCon regular season championships and one SoCon Tournament championship.
"Appalachian is a very special place to me and my family," Bentley said. "I am excited to continue the work of growing the App State wrestling tradition."
The Mountaineers are coming off back-to-back historic seasons, garnering the team's first national ranking in the USA Today/NWCA poll at No. 23 in 2015-16 and then pushing that further in 2016-17 by climbing all the way up to No. 20 in the country. In the national rankings, App State also reached No. 16 this season in InterMat while also making No. 6 in the newly formed NWCA/National Duals Selection Committee Mid-Major Top 20 Poll.
Appalachian has gone 13-1 in the SoCon the previous two seasons and won 22 of 27 dual matches for exceptional recent dominance in the mid-majors, downing five Power 5 programs and two top-25 teams. In back-to-back years, the Black and Gold have been selected to participate in the NWCA National Duals, which pits the nation's top wrestling programs against Big Ten teams each year. This year, Boone and wrestling home Varsity Gym played host to the big stage, welcoming Indiana University to the mountain to cap off the season.
Under Bentley's tutelage, Mountaineer wrestling has had three NCAA All-Americans, a SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler, two SoCon Freshmen of the Year, four SoCon Wrestlers of the Year, 10 wrestlers named SoCon all-freshmen, 18 named SoCon all-conference and 17 SoCon Champions.
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