Kent Adair takes home Utah Coach of the Year Award

Monticello wrestling Coach Kent Adair was awarded the Utah Coach of the Year award on Oct. 1 at the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame Banquet at Utah Valley University in Orem.
This coming season will be Adair’s 42nd year coaching the Buckaroos. The past year ended with Adair and his wrestlers hoisting the state championship trophy, their first in five years.
Eight of Adair’s wrestlers took home individual state championship trophies last year, and four took home second place trophies, capping off a historic season for the team and for Adair.
In addition, Buckaroo wrestlers Zac Musselman and Brayson Wilcox were named to the prestigious Beehive 25 list of the top wrestlers in the state in any classification.
At the 12th annual USA Wrestling award ceremony, Adair was acknowledged as the Utah coach of the year award before his peers and family. Each year at the banquet awards are given out to players and coaches as voted on by the public.
This year, more than 1,900 votes were cast by the public. Adair didn’t think he had a chance at winning the prestigious award considering most of the coaches eligible for the award were from larger regions.
“I was honored,” Adair said. “It’s cool to be recognized by people who follow the sport of wrestling. The people on the USA side are usually people that follow wrestling, so it’s kind of cool to be recognized by the people that follow wrestling.”
Adair was nominated for the award by a local wrestling parent. The purpose of the USA Wresting events is to provide opportunities for wrestlers of all styles to compete against the best competition, at the regional, national and international levels, according to the USA Wrestling website.
“They have a Hall of Fame and then they give awards to the best wrestler and the coach of the year,” Adair said. Earlier Buckaroo Coach Joe Wolfe Davis was named to the Hall of Fame in 2009.
USA Wrestling sponsors all the wrestling that takes places in the state that is not affiliated with high schools in the state.
“USA wrestling is a national organization,” said Adair. “It’s an honor to be recognized by them.”
This year, Adair will have four returning state champions on the team and three second-place finishers, setting the stage for another great season for the Buckaroos
“It was a lot of fun,” Adair said of the team’s historic season last year. “We had a lot of good kids last year and they work really hard and just achieve what they did.”
Adair said that he appreciates all the help he has received over the years coaching from his family, other coaches, parents, and the community.
“It really helps contribute to the team, all those people that help us,” Adair said.
The Buckaroos will start their 2018 campaign in November as they begin their bid for another team state championship.