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Adam Coon

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Adam Coon
Personal information
Full nameAdam Jacob Coon
Born (1994-11-14) November 14, 1994 (age 29)
Fowlerville, Michigan, U.S.
Height196 cm (6.43 ft; 77 in)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Weight class130 kg
Event(s)Greco-Roman, Freestyle, Folkstyle
University teamMichigan Wolverines
ClubCliff Keen WC
New York AC
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Budapest 130 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Buenos Aires 130 kg
Silver medal – second place 2020 Ottawa 130 kg
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Zagreb 120 kg
Men's freestyle wrestling
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Zagreb 120 kg
Cadet World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Szombathely 100 kg
Representing Cliff Keen WC
University Freestyle Nationals
Gold medal – first place 2014 Akron 125 kg
FILA Junior Freestyle National Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Las Vegas 120 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Michigan Wolverines
NCAA Division I Championships
Silver medal – second place 2015 St. Louis 285 lb
Silver medal – second place 2018 Cleveland 285 lb
Bronze medal – third place 2016 New York 285 lb
Big Ten Championships
Silver medal – second place 2016 Iowa City 285 lb
Silver medal – second place 2018 East Lansing 285 lb
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Columbus 285 lb
American football career
Seattle Sea Dragons
Position:Offensive guard
Career information
College:Michigan
Undrafted:2018
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Adam Jacob Coon (born November 14, 1994) is an American heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler. He was also a former professional football player, playing offensive guard for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, notable for not having played football in college.[1] Coon was an accomplished wrestler at the state, national, and international levels. He was a 2011 Cadet World freestyle gold medalist, 2014 Junior World double bronze medalist in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, two-time NCAA Division I finalist (2015, 2018), 2018 Senior World silver medalist in Greco-Roman, and a Pan American gold medalist in 2019 and silver medalist in 2020.[1][2]

Early life

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Coon was a four-time Michigan state high school champion for Fowlerville High School, winning at 215 pounds in 2010 and 2011 and at 285 pounds in 2012 and 2013, while compiling a 212-3 career record, finishing with three straight undefeated seasons. He became 2011 FILA Cadet World champion at 100kg and two-time USA Wrestling Junior Triple Crown winner by capturing titles in folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle in 2012 and 2013.[3][2]

For his 2013 performance, Coon was named Detroit Athletic Club HS Athlete of the Year, and received the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (Midwest region), Michigan's "Mr. Wrestler" award, and the Junior Schalles Award for best high school pinner.[4][2] Coon lettered in football and track and field, becoming a state runner-up in discus and shot put. He was also in the National Honor Society and the class of 2013 salutatorian.[3][2]

College wrestling career

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Coon enrolled at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, majoring in aerospace engineering.[2] In his freshman year at heavyweight, he won the Michigan State Open, the Cliff Keen Las Vegas championship (defeating Nick Gwiazdowski in the quarterfinals), and the Ken Kraft Midlands championship, but went 0-2 at the Big Ten championship, and 2-2 at the 2014 NCAA championships to finish shy of All-American honors.[2] That summer he rebounded by winning University Freestyle Nationals at 125 kg,[5] and freestyle and Greco-Roman 120 kg championships at the 2014 FILA Junior World Team Trials to secure his spot at the World Junior Championships.[6] At the world championships, Coon defeated Arata Sonoda in Greco-Roman and Yunus Emre Dede in freestyle to win double bronze, a rare achievement.[7][2]

In his sophomore year, Coon was named team co-captain, capturing another MSU Open championship, finishing third at Cliff Keen, second at the Southern Scuffle, and third at the Big Ten championships. At the 2015 NCAA championships, he lost to Gwiazdowski in the heavyweight finals, going 4-1 and earning All-American, Academic All-Big Ten, and NWCA All-Academic honors.[2]

As a junior, Coon won the Greco-Roman 130 kg titles at the 2015 Bill Farrell International Open[8] and at the U.S. Open, placed second at the Big Ten championship after losing to Kyle Snyder in the finals, and went 5-1 at the 2016 NCAA championships to place third behind Snyder and Gwiazdowski, earning All-American and All-Academic honors again.[9][2] Coon was an alternate in Greco-Roman for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil after placing second at the United States Olympic Team Trials.[10]

Despite redshirting due to injury in his senior year, he received a U-M Athletic Academic Achievement Award. Coon returned with strong showings as a graduate student for the 2017-18 season, winning his third MSU Open title, second Cliff Keen Invitational title, beating no.1 ranked 2016 gold medalist Kyle Snyder in the Clash at Crisler dual meet for Snyder's first loss in over two years,[11] placing second at the Big Ten championships after losing to Snyder in double over-time, and second at the 2018 NCAA championships after losing to Snyder again,[12] earning All-American and All-Academic honors for the third time, and a second Athletic Academic Achievement Award. Coon finished his college career with a 116-15 overall record and .885 win percentage, the sixth highest in U-M history.[2]

Football career

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On June 4, 2021, the Tennessee Titans signed Coon to play on the offensive line for them.[13] He was an All-State linebacker in high school and was an honorable mention offensive lineman. He attended the University of Michigan but never played college football. On August 12, 2021, Coon was waived/injured by the Titans and placed on injured reserve.[14] He was released on August 20.

On June 15, 2022, Coon had a workout with the Atlanta Falcons.[15]

Coon was assigned to the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL on January 6, 2023.[16]

Greco-Roman wrestling career

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After graduating college, Coon pursued an international career in the Greco-Roman style. In 2019, Coon won the gold medal in the 130 kg event at the Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the same year, he also represented the United States at the 2019 Pan American Games in the 130 kg event without winning a medal; he was eliminated in his first match by Yasmani Acosta of Chile who went on to win one of the bronze medals.[17]

At the 2019 World Wrestling Championships held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, he competed in the 130 kg event where he was eliminated in his first match by Meng Lingzhe of China.[18]

In March 2020, at the Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Ottawa, Canada, he won the silver medal in the 130 kg event.[19] A few days later, he competed in the 2020 Pan American Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament, also held in Ottawa, Canada, without qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[20] In May 2021, he also failed to qualify for the Olympics at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Sofia, Bulgaria.[21][22]

In January 2023, Coon resumed training in Greco-Roman wrestling, and made the USA Greco-Roman wrestling team for the 2024 Olympics.[10] He competed in the 130 kg event at the Olympics.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gordon, Grant (June 12, 2021). "Can Titans OL Adam Coon be the next Stephen Neal?". NFL.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Adam Coon". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Adam Coon". National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "Schalles Award Winners". WIN magazine. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "ASICS University Freestyle Nationals". The Guillotine. May 25, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  6. ^ "FILA Junior World Team Trials". The Guillotine. May 30, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  7. ^ Bigsby, Patrick (April 24, 2018). "The Strongest Graduate Student in the World". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  8. ^ "Bill Farrell International Open". The Guillotine. November 7, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  9. ^ "2016 NCAA Division I National Championships". The Guillotine. March 19, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Khan, Bill (January 16, 2023). "Fowlerville's Adam Coon resumes quest for Olympic wrestling gold after taking NFL shot". Livingston Daily. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  11. ^ Kornacki, Steve (February 13, 2018). "Michigan's Adam Coon first to beat Olympic gold medalist Snyder since 2015". NCAA.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  12. ^ "2018 NCAA Division I Championships". The Guillotine. March 17, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  13. ^ Wyatt, Jim (June 4, 2021). "Titans Agree to Terms With Decorated Wrestler Adam Coon". TennesseeTitans.com.
  14. ^ Morris, Jimmy (August 12, 2021). "Titans sign S Tedric Thompson and S Reggie Floyd; Waive WR Kalija Lipscomb and OL Adam Coon (injured)". SBNation.com.
  15. ^ "Falcons worked out veteran center Jonotthan Harrison". yardbarker.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  16. ^ @XFL_PR (January 6, 2023). "Seattle Sea Dragons" (Tweet). Retrieved January 7, 2023 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "2019 Pan American Games Wrestling Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  18. ^ "2019 World Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  19. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (March 6, 2020). "United States win three golds on day one of Pan American Wrestling Championships in Ottawa". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  20. ^ "2020 Pan American Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  21. ^ Goodwin, Cody (May 8, 2021). "Ex-Michigan wrestler Adam Coon fails to qualify for 2021 Olympics berth". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  22. ^ "2021 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  23. ^ "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
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