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Kevin Black (wrestling coach)

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Kevin Black
Weight133 lb (60 kg)
Born (1979-09-25) September 25, 1979 (age 45)
River Falls, Wisconsin, U.S.
High schoolRiver Falls (WI) River Falls
State championships4 (Wisconsin)
CollegeUniversity of Wisconsin
StatusHead Coach for River Falls High School, Owner of Victory School of Wrestling

Kevin James Black (born September 25, 1979) is a wrestling coach, the founder and former owner of the Victory School of Wrestling. Kevin is the former head coach for the River Falls High School wrestling team, and a former standout wrestler for the state of Wisconsin.

Kevin has provided significant coaching for women/female wrestlers competing internationally. Kevin was mat side coaching Helen Maroulis to an Olympic Gold Medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Career

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High school

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Kevin won four individual high school state titles at River Falls High School with a 160-0 career record.[1] During high school, he also won four freestyle state titles and three Greco-Roman titles.[2] In 1998 he was an ASICS Tiger and an Amateur Wrestling News and Wrestling USA All-American honorable mention.[3][4] Black holds RFHS records for most career wins (160), highest career win percentage (100%), Career pins (101), Career takedowns (589), and career team points (1,103.5).[5]

College

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After graduation from River Falls High in 1998, Black wrestled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). During his Junior season Black was named an All-American after placing 4th at the NCAA tournament.[6] His senior season was cut short due to injury. He was a team captain for three of his four years at Wisconsin.[7]

Coaching career

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Black is the former head coach at River Falls High School, stepping down after the 2022-23 season.[8] He began his coaching career in college, running Black Bros Wrestling Camps with his brother Tony. They were the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation Co-State Coaches in 2003–05. Black also spent one season as an assistant high school wrestling coach in Lodi, WI. Black also spent two years on the coaching staff at the University of Wisconsin. Black has been a World Team coach in 2007 (Baku, Azerbaijan), 2009 (Herning, Denmark) and 2011 (Istanbul, Turkey) and has led on many international tours with USA Wrestling. He has also been a part of the Olympic Development Program since 2007 and was a club coach with the New York AC, which won the women's team title at the 2009 U.S. National Championships.[2][7][dead link] Black coached at River Falls High School from 2013 to 2023.

Victory School of Wrestling

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In 2010 Black created the Victory School of Wrestling. Its mission statement notes that: "Victory School of Wrestling aims to build championship wrestlers with championship character, tremendous work ethic, high morality and integrity."[9] At Victory, Black has been a part of developing over 30 high school state champions, 39 USAW All-Americans and 7 World Team/US National Team members.

Awards and honors

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  • Black was undefeated in high school wrestling, posting a 160-0 career record.
  • In college he was an All-American.
  • In 2009 and 2011, Black was named USA Wrestling Women's Coach of the Year.[7][10]

Personal life

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Black is married to Liz (Reusser) Black, a WCCCA Hall of Fame inductee and cross country star at Middleton High School and University of Wisconsin.[11] They have three children.

References

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  1. ^ "Undefeated four times state High School Champions". Wrestling USA Magazine. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Wildcat Hall of Fame: Kevin Black (Class of 2011)". rfhalloffame.org. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  3. ^ Abbott, Gary (June 26, 1998). "1998 Asics Tiger High School All-American Team announced". TheMat.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  4. ^ "Wrestling USA magazine's High School All-America Team". Wrestling USA magazine. May 30, 1998. Archived from the original on November 17, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  5. ^ "Hall of Fame Legends: Kevin James Black". RiverFallsWrestling.org. Archived from the original on March 9, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  6. ^ "UW Wrestling All-Americans". UWBadgers.com. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Abbott, Gary (June 17, 2010). "Kevin Black named 2009 USA Wrestling Women's Coach of the Year". TheMat.com. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  8. ^ "Kevin Black named Wildcat wrestling coach". River Falls Journal. March 13, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  9. ^ "Information". VictorySchoolOfWrestling.com. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  10. ^ Abbott, Gary (May 5, 2012). "Kevin Black named 2011 USA Wrestling Women's Coach of the Year". TheMat.com. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  11. ^ "Liz Black inducted into WCCCA Hall of Fame". River Falls Journal. January 20, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
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