Blackhawk grad Regner takes over at Millersville

After three very successful seasons as head wrestling coach at Williams Baptist College, Kerry Regner and his family had settled in to their newlife in Walnut Ridge, Ark.

Then came a chance for themto move back to Pennsylvania, an opportunity that Regner could not pass up.

“I was contacted by an individual who informed me that Millersville University needed a new coach and asked if I was interested,” said Regner, a 2003 graduate of Blackhawk High School.

“We enjoyed our time in Arkansas, but all of our vacations were to see family in Pennsylvania. The drive from Arkansas to Beaver County is 12 hours on a good day. My wife is from Lock Haven, so add another four hours to that trip. With two young children, itwas not an easy trip.”

The Regners travel time to visit family has been significantly cut, as Kerry was named Millersville’s 10th wrestling coach on June 5.

“It’s an honor to be Millersville’s next coach,” Regner said. “I would like to express my appreciation to Miles Gallagherand the search committee for giving me this opportunity. It is a privilege to lead a program with a history such as Millersville. I look forward to assisting each student-athlete to develop as leaders of qualitycharacter.”

Millersville does have a rich history in wrestling, but the program has struggled for the past eight years, combining for a 29-81-1 record during that stretch. The most recent Millersville team to record a winning record was the 200809 squad, which posted a 9-8 mark.

During his 3½-year stay in Arkansas, Regner built the NAIA-affiliated Williams Baptist program from the ground up and seemingly overnight turned it into a nationally-relevant team. Not only did his teams win back-to-back American Midwest Conference titles in 2015-16 and 201617,but in just three seasons, he developed 23 national qualifiers, six All-Americans and a 2016 national champion. He was also named American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year twice.

In 2016-17, his club reached aNo. 3 national ranking — the highest of any team in the history of Williams Baptist Athletics. That team went on to finish fourth at the NAIA championships. In all three seasons his teams finished in the NAIA’s top 25.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge of rebuilding Millersville’s program and getting the program back on track,” said Regner, who moved to Millersville at the beginning ofJuly.

Regner compiled a 103-27 record during his four years at Blackhawk. He continued his wrestling and academic career at Northern Michigan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications. He also competed at the Olympic level in Greco-Roman competition during his years at Northern Michigan, but fell short of an Olympic berth.

After graduating, Regner returned to Western Pennsylvania to take the head coaching job at Beaver. He inherited a roster of five wrestlers and quickly recruited students and broke the school record for dual meet wins and regional qualifiers. The following year, he served as a graduate assistant coach at Clarion University, where he earned a masters degree in mass media and journalism.