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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are pleased to congratulate University of 
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Illinois wrestling coach Mark Johnson on his retirement; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mark Johnson, the top wrestling coach in Illinois 
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history, announced his retirement Monday, March 30, 2009; and

 
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    WHEREAS, During his 17-year career, Coach Johnson led the 
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Illini to more wins and
produced more NCAA champions, NCAA 
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qualifiers, and All-Americans than any coach in school history; 
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his teams were 203-44-3 in dual meets; and the team is coming 
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off an eighth-place finish at the recent NCAA meet, the 10th 
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time his team finished in the Top 10; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mark Johnson was a two-time NCAA runner-up at 
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Michigan and  earned a spot on the 1980
United States Olympic 
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team, but did not get to compete in the Moscow Games
because of 
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the United States boycott; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Shortly after the Olympics, he went to work as an 
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Iowa assistant for
legendary Dan Gable; during his time in Iowa 
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City, the Hawkeyes won four national championships; his first 
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head coaching job was at Oregon State, where he earned
Pac-10 
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coach of the year honors in 1992 after leading the Beavers to 
 


 






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the
conference title; and
 
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    WHEREAS, The Rock Island native took over at Illinois in 
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1992 and quickly started
to rebuild the program; during his 
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tenure, he coached seven wrestlers, Steve Marianetti, Ernest 
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Benion Jr., Eric Siebert, Carl Perry, John

Lockhart, Adam 
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Tirapelle, and Matt Lackey to NCAA titles; ten other Illini 
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reached the NCAA finals, including two-time runner-up Mike 
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Poeta, who, like his coach, intends to pursue a spot on the 
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United States Olympic team; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 2005, Coach Johnson's Illini ended a 53-year 
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drought by winning the Big Ten
title, and  he earned his second 
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Big Ten coach of the year honor that
season; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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congratulate Coach Mark Johnson on his success at the 
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University of Illinois and wish him all the best in his future 
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endeavors; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Mark Johnson as a symbol of our respect and 
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esteem.