Georgia Archives Match of the Week #11

Georgia Archives Match of the Week #11

After winning 2 Georgia State Championships, Jeff Bedard defeats State Favorite Matt Helm from Detroit Catholic Central, to become the 126 lbs Division 1 State Champion. Matt Helm won the 130 lbs State Championship in 1988 and went on to wrestle for Michigan State.

Bedard went on to become a 2x Collegiate All-American,  3x Armed Forces World Champ, NAIA National Champ, 6x US Open All-American, Sunkist Open Champion, and 4x NYAC Champion. He finished his high school career with a record of 170-3.

Following his competitive wrestling career he then went on to compete in MMA where he compiled a  13-3 record and was the PFC Bantamweight Champion.

Jeff Bedard's coaching career started while he was still competing where he would first help out at his alma mater Carson-Newman. He helped in a few different spots from 1995-1999 ranging from Georgia State, Cumberland, and then Cornell. After competing as a Sergeant in the Army until 2003 he would return to coaching in Georgia full-time . He was named the GHSA Coach of the Year in 2007 after leading Wesleyan to both a Traditional and Duals State Championship. He helped Collins Hill reach a Top 15 ranking in the country as assistant from 2007-2010. Following that he worked with both Compound Wrestling and then his own facility known as Bedard's Elite Training Center where he would help coach 54 High School All-Americans and 37 State Champions over that time. He jumped back into the college wrestling coaching scene in 2014 where he would join UTC's coaching staff. Finally he has settled down as Reinhardt's first ever Head Wrestling Coach in 2016 where he has led the program to prominence over that time period. Reinhardt is now one of the best NAIA programs in the country where they are continually ranked in the Top 10 in the country.

Jeff Bedard

High School: Redan

College:  Carson-Newman

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