North Idaho College announces Derrick Booth as new head wrestling coach
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — North Idaho College Athletics Director Shawn Noel announced Derrick Booth as the head wrestling coach.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more excited to have Derrick Booth stay with us on a permanent basis,鈥� Noel said. 鈥淗e is a fierce competitor, respected by his student-athletes and has great ties into the community. He understands what is expected of the North Idaho College wrestling program and has the ability to build on the past successes, while making it his own.鈥�
Booth, a Post Falls native, wrestled for the Cardinals from 2012 to 2014. While at NIC, he was a part of the 2013 NJCAA National Championship team and was an All-American in 2014. He continued his athletic career at Coker University in South Carolina where he wrestled for two seasons and completed his bachelor鈥檚 degree in physical education and exercise science.
Booth returns to the Northwest after spending two seasons on the coaching staff at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa. At Ellsworth, he coached three All-Americans and helped the team improve from 25th in the nation in 2020, to 10th in the nation in 2021. While coaching, Booth also finished his master鈥檚 degree in sport and athletic administration from Gonzaga University.
For the 2022-23 wrestling season, Booth served as interim coach at North Idaho College. This season, Booth led the Cards to a fifth-place finish in the NJCAA National Championships and NIC defeated defending national champions 鈥� Clackamas Community College 鈥� twice.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be named the head coach of the North Idaho College Wrestling program,鈥� Booth said. 鈥淚 am excited to continue and build on the tradition of excellence here at North Idaho. I鈥檇 like to thank Shawn Noel and all of North Idaho College for this opportunity!”
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