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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate University of
4 Illinois wrestling coach Mark Johnson on his retirement; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Mark Johnson, the top wrestling coach in Illinois
6 history, announced his retirement Monday, March 30, 2009; and
 
7     WHEREAS, During his 17-year career, Coach Johnson led the
8 Illini to more wins and produced more NCAA champions, NCAA
9 qualifiers, and All-Americans than any coach in school history;
10 his teams were 203-44-3 in dual meets; and the team is coming
11 off an eighth-place finish at the recent NCAA meet, the 10th
12 time his team finished in the Top 10; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Mark Johnson was a two-time NCAA runner-up at
14 Michigan and earned a spot on the 1980 United States Olympic
15 team, but did not get to compete in the Moscow Games because of
16 the United States boycott; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Shortly after the Olympics, he went to work as an
18 Iowa assistant for legendary Dan Gable; during his time in Iowa
19 City, the Hawkeyes won four national championships; his first
20 head coaching job was at Oregon State, where he earned Pac-10
21 coach of the year honors in 1992 after leading the Beavers to

 

 

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1 the conference title; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The Rock Island native took over at Illinois in
3 1992 and quickly started to rebuild the program; during his
4 tenure, he coached seven wrestlers, Steve Marianetti, Ernest
5 Benion Jr., Eric Siebert, Carl Perry, John Lockhart, Adam
6 Tirapelle, and Matt Lackey to NCAA titles; ten other Illini
7 reached the NCAA finals, including two-time runner-up Mike
8 Poeta, who, like his coach, intends to pursue a spot on the
9 United States Olympic team; and
 
10     WHEREAS, In 2005, Coach Johnson's Illini ended a 53-year
11 drought by winning the Big Ten title, and he earned his second
12 Big Ten coach of the year honor that season; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
15 congratulate Coach Mark Johnson on his success at the
16 University of Illinois and wish him all the best in his future
17 endeavors; and be it further
 
18     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19 presented to Mark Johnson as a symbol of our respect and
20 esteem.