BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell head coach Cary Kolat has been named 2017 USA Wrestling Women's Co-Coach of the Year.

Kolat was joined by John Smith for the honor, named by USA Wrestling.

Smith and Kolat were the official 2017 Women's World Team coaches, working with National Coach Terry Steiner and leading the U.S. women in Paris, France to an impressive second-place finish. The team was led by World champion Helen Maroulis, World silver medalist Alli Ragan and World bronze medalist Becka Leathers.

This was the first time that Smith or Kolat had taken a Women's World Team assignment, after many years coaching men in both freestyle and American folkstyle. Kolat did help coach a women's team at the Pan American Championships.

Smith, currently the head coach at Oklahoma State, is a member of the United World Wrestling International Wrestling Hall of Fame. Both Smith and Kolat have been elected as Distinguished Members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, with Smith inducted in 1997 and Kolat inducted in 2017.

Kolat will be entering his fifth year as Campbell's head coach in 2018-19, guiding the Camels to the 2017 Southern Conference Championship, the program's first conference title. In 2018, heavyweight Jere Heino and 165-pounder Quentin Perez both made repeat appearances in the NCAA Championships, with Heino earning a top-12 finish.