Heath Eslinger

Family

Coach Eslinger and his wife Brandi have three girls. Brookelyn age 2 and twin girls Madelyn and Keelyn that are 6 months old.

High School

State Champion: 1994 and 1995
Outstanding Wrestler of State Tournament in 1995
A part of Bradley Highs first team state championships as junior and senior in 1994 and 1995.

College

Attended University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1995-2000.
3x Southern Conference Champion
3x NCAA Qualifier
Outstanding Wrestler of the Southern Conference in 2000.
5th place at Midlands Invitational in 2000
3rd place at Midlands in 2003
All time career win leader with an overall record of 124-16.
Assistant coach at Bradley Central from 2000-2001. Assistant Coach at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 2001-2004 under Terry Brands.

Currently:

Head Wrestling Coach at Cleveland High School.

Rusty Blackmon

Assistant Coach

Rusty Blackmon, a high school wrestling standout in his hometown of Cleveland, came home this past year to join the coaching staff of Coach Heath Eslinger. He brought with him a wealth of experience and a passion for seeing other young men given the opportunities he was given, to attain great things in the sport of wrestling.

Blackmon's high school record is impressive: four-time state placer, three-time state finalist and two-time state champion. As a Senior, he was Outstanding Wrestler at the Tennessee State Tournament. He placed fourth in NHSCA and was third team ASICS All American and first Team Academic ASICS All American. He is a recipient of the Wade Schalles Award for most pins in the nation.

He went on to Oklahoma State where he was also a standout, taking second Big Twelve in 2004, third Big Twelve in 2006, Dual Champs in 2003, 2004, and 2005. He was a member of four National Championship Teams while at Oklahoma State.

Al Miller

National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Former Head Coach
Remains to Assist Team & Staff

Al Miller, who retired this past year after 34 years as head wrestling coach at CHS, was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 2006. He continues to lend his expertise and assistance to his successor, Coach Heath Eslinger,and his team of assistant coaches. Miller has 38 years' experience as a coach.

A graduate of Red Bank High School in Chattanooga, he wrestled under the direction of Coach John Farr, an original inductee into the Hall of Fame. At University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he wrestled for Jim Morgan, another Hall inductee. Although Miller did not wrestle his senior year at UTC, he helped coach and stayed involved in the sport while coaching at the Boys Club.

Miller took over the Cleveland High Wrestling program during the 1973-74 season. He began developing a junior high program and in 1976, the Cleveland Wrestling Raiders took the first region championship with Jeff Howard taking the title. What followed was a series of second and third rankings in the state, and in 1980 and 1981, the school won the state championship.

Miller has traveled to several world championships, two Olympics and to Europe and the Middle East. He has also traveled inside the former Soviet Union as an ambassador of the sport.

Josh Boskin

Assistant coach for Cleveland High School