BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - CSUB wrestling Head Coach T.J. Kerr has been named Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year for 2007, the magazine released in its most recent publication.
Awarded every year since 1962, and considered perhaps the most prestigious honor in wrestling, Kerr becomes the third honoree associated with Roadrunner wrestling to be named Man of the Year. Joe Seay, CSUB's inaugural coach, was honored in 1990, though he was serving as the head coach at Oklahoma State at the time. Four-time All-American and two-time NCAA Division I National Champion Stephen Neal was named AWN Man of the Year in 1999.
Kerr's 36-year career has been loaded with accomplishments and milestones, but none may have been as momentous as his team's 37-12 win over Portland State on Jan. 19, giving him 400 career victories. The Oregon trip, which included an unprecedented sweep of Oregon, Oregon State and Portland State, was noted by Kerr as feat he couldn't recall accomplishing previously. Just the fifth active NCAA coach to achieve 400 wins, Kerr's 36-year career record stands at 404-200-7.
His career began with a 12-year tenure at his alma mater San Jose State. During that time, the Spartans won 10 Pacific Coast Athletic Association titles and finished second twice. In 1982, San Jose State went on to finish ninth at the NCAA DI Championships.
Kerr took the reigns of the Roadrunner wrestling program in 1985, and in 1987, he led the team to a NCAA DII National Championship. The program transitioned to Division I in 1988 and Kerr has since led Bakersfield to a pair of Pac-10 titles and a third place National Championship finish in 1996. That achievement earned Kerr National Wrestling Coach of the Year honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Named PCAA Coach of the Year seven times and Pac-10 Coach of the Year three times, Kerr was awarded the highest honor in wrestling in the state of California in 2005 when he was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Having directed 17 Division II All-Americans and 27 Division I All-Americans to date, Kerr will be looking to add to this number next week at the 2008 NCAA National Championships. ?Runner wrestlers Daniel Atondo, Mitch Monteiro, Riley Orozco and Brandon Zoetewey will all be making the trip to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., on March 20-22.
