Kenny Monday

Kenny Dale Monday (born November 25, 1961) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Morgan State's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he was an Olympic gold medalist and three-time All-American from Oklahoma State University. Monday is a three-time Olympian.

BornNovember 25, 1961 (1961-11-25) (age 64)

Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.

Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)

Weight74 kg (163 lb)

CountryUnited States

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Kenny Monday

Monday in 2023
Personal information
Born	November 25, 1961 (1961-11-25) (age 64) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle and Folkstyle
College team	Oklahoma State
Club	Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club
Team	USA
Now coaching	Morgan State University
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 74 kg 1992 Barcelona 74 kg World Championships 1989 Martigny 74 kg 1991 Varna 74 kg Pan American Games 1991 Havana 74 kg Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Oklahoma State Cowboys NCAA Division I Championships 1984 East Rutherford 150 lb 1983 Oklahoma City 150 lb 1982 Ames 150 lb Big 8 Championships 1982 Lincoln 150 lb 1983 Ames 150 lb 1984 Stillwater 150 lb 1981 Stillwater 142 lb

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He began wrestling at age six at a YMCA after-school program and grew up idolizing Olympic wrestler Wayne Wells. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he won four state titles and the 1977 Junior National championship. He never lost a match from seventh grade through the end of high school and finished with a record of 140–0–1.

As an All-American at OSU, Monday won the NCAA title in 1984 at 150 pounds. His collegiate record of 121–12–2 contributed to the Cowboys winning two Big Eight titles. He won the 1989 World Championship and a series of USA Freestyle championships in 1985, 1988, 1991, and 1996. He won the Olympic Championship in 1988 in a 5–2 overtime win against the Soviet Union's Adlan Varaev. Monday was voted the outstanding wrestler of the Grand Masters of Olympic Wrestling in 1990, after beating Rahmat Sofiadi of Bulgaria.^[1]

Monday was a silver medalist in the 1992 Olympics and placed sixth in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. In 2001, Monday was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.^[2]

On March 28, 1997, Monday competed in a mixed martial arts bout defeating John Lewis by TKO in round two at Extreme Fighting 4, which was held in Des Moines, Iowa.

Monday has also worked as the wrestling coach with the Blackzilians, a mixed martial arts camp based in Boca Raton, Florida.^[3][4] He is married to Sabrina Goodwin Monday (National Sales Director for Mary Kay Cosmetics) and has three children. Both his sons would become NCAA Division I wrestlers. His oldest son Kennedy wrestled for the University of North Carolina,^[5] and his younger son Quincy currently^[when?] wrestles for Princeton University. Monday currently^[when?] resides in North Carolina.^{[citation needed]}

On August 15, 2022, Monday was announced as the head wrestling coach of the resurrected Morgan State University program, that last competed in 1997.^[6] In 2026, the revived program's third year on the mat, Eugene Harney and Yannis Charles qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Harney won the EIWA title at 149 pounds while Charles qualified at 157 pounds despite a medical forfeit during the conference tournament. Of the twelve teams in the EIWA, Morgan State finished eighth.^[7]