Former Cary head wrestling coach Jerry Winterton named to national hall of fame

Former Cary High head wrestling coach and current assistant Jerry Winterton will be part of the National Federation of State High School Associations’ 2017 Hall of Fame class.

He coached 29 years at Cary (1981-2010) after starting his career with three seasons at East Wake.

The numbers are staggering.

Winterton led the Imps to 19 state championships (11 individual tournaments, eight duals) and was runner-up 13 times (six individual tournaments, seven duals).

In dual meets, he went 620-16 (97.5 percent) at Cary alone, 642-34 (94.9) overall and 540-3 (99.4) in the regular season.

His program led the nation in tournaments won – 166.

Cary won 28 straight conference championships and 266 consecutive home duals.

From 1996 to 2010, Cary finished first or second in 24 out of a possible 28 dual-team and individual tournament championships.

Twice, he was named national high school wrestling coach of the year and is a member of the Cary High Sports Hall of Fame, the North Carolina chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the N.C. High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

He was named The Mat News’ N.C. Coach of the Year 10 times.

He coached 32 All-Americans and 48 state champions.

Winterton is the seventh NFHS Hall of Fame honoree from North Carolina and fourth with Triangle ties. He will be inducted in Providence, Rhode Island, this summer. Other N.C. members in the hall are Bob Jamieson, former Hillside coach Russell Blunt, Cary alumnus and former NCHSAA executive director Charlie Adams, former N&O high school sports editor Tim Stevens, Jerry McGee and Willie Bradshaw.

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Former Cary head wrestling coach Jerry Winterton named to national hall of fame."