Rocco Caponi was a State Champion, Walsh Ironman Tournament Runner-Up, 2x State Finalist and Junior National Freestyle Champion for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. He then put together a highly successful career spanning five years at the University of Virginia. While with the Cavaliers, he won three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) titles and qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships four times. Caponi was ranked as high as 6th in the nation in NCAA D 1 and posted a 40-2 record going into the 2008 NCAA Championships.
"We're excited to have Rocco as an important part of our program," said first-year head coach Joe Boardwine. "His experience as a competitor is very valuable, and having dominated the ACC, he brings a wealth of knowledge to our team. He helped take Virginia from the basement of the ACC to the top, and that's something our guys and new recruits can learn from. Building a high-level program from the ground-up is our exact goal here at Campbell."
Caponi won over 110 matches during his UVA career while wrestling mostly in the 184-pound weight class.
"I am very happy to become part of the Campbell University family," said Caponi. "I truly believe through hard work we will bring this program into the national spotlight. It is a privilege and an honor to work around so many great people in such a lovely setting."
Caponi earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia in 2008, and also received his Master's of Education in Educational Psychology from UVA in 2009.
Jarrad Turner comes to Campbell University as the new Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Promotions in addition to serving as an Assistant Wrestling Coach. As Campbell's top athletic marketing officer, Turner oversees the marketing and promotions efforts for all of Campbell's 20 athletic programs including game promotions, print and electronic media advertising sales, licensing, and merchandising. Turner served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing at Mercer University in Georgia prior to joining Campbell's administrative team.
Turner was a standout for CVCA in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He was a Medina Invitational Champ, NHSCA High School All-American and a two-time placer at the prestigious Walsh Ironman Tournament. From CVCA, Turner wrestled for the Nittany Lions of Penn State in the Big 10 conference, where he was a Freestyle All-American at the University Nationals and a 4-year letter winner.
"I am thrilled to welcome Jarrad Turner to Campbell and to our growing wrestling program as an Assistant Wrestling Coach," said Head Coach Joe Boardwine. "I trained Jarrad in high school– so I've known him for a long, long time. He has something important to teach our guys - because he is a great success story of what is possible in college wrestling…. If you are willing to work hard at our sport for years – you can pass up the competition. Even if someone is beating you in high school –if you discipline yourself to work hard enough for long enough……you will go much further in D 1 wrestling than they do. If you want it bad enough – it is only a matter of time," Boardwine asserted.
Turner was a very successful NCAA D 1 coach while serving as the Graduate Assistant Coach for the Kent State Golden Flashes' during that program's upswing into the Top 25. Turner earned two Bachelors degrees from The Pennsylvania State University and a Masters degree in Sports Administration from Kent Sate University.
"What's great about Jarrad is he is a terrific example for our wrestlers as both a bright, successful professional and also a high-level wrestler," said Boardwine. "He provides our program with yet another important person – in addition to all the support we already have - who really wants to see our wrestling program in the Top 25 in the nation."
For the first time, Campbell University Wrestling now has three coaches employed at CU working on the CU Wrestling program in an official capacity.
"I'm excited to be at Campbell and back working with Coach Joe (Boardwine)," Turner stated. "He has a championship vision for the wrestling program and very good plans laid out to accomplish that vision. It's going to be a lot of fun. This is a growing, thriving university. The whole athletic department and broader university are ready to take the athletic program to another level," Turner concluded.
New Campbell Head Coach Joe Boardwine and his assistants, Rocco Caponi and Jarrad Turner, each live on the CU campus in Buies Creek, North Carolina.
"I love the fact that we are all right here on campus," said Head Coach Joe Boardwine. "Our wrestlers have continuous access to mentoring, coaching and training at a very high-level. Combine that with Campbell's 1:19 full professor-to-student ratio – and our wrestlers have the kind of one-on-one attention that leads to D 1 wrestling and academic excellence. They're not just a number."
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