Bonners Ferry Alum Plato honored as Boys Head Wrestling Coach of the Year

JB Plato, a 2001 graduate of Bonners Ferry High and the current head wrestling coach at Pocatello High, was named the Boys Head Coach of the Year for the state of Idaho, announced Wednesday, April 30 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Award recipients from each state were nominated by their state leaders for their outstanding work this past season. Plato is now eligible for NWCA's Section 8 Coach of the Year honors. State chairs from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming will handle the voting and the winner will be announced this week.

Plato, who was a three-time state placer, won a 171-pound A-2 state championship in 2000 for the Badgers and wrestled collegiately at North Idaho College, was an instrumental force in helping Idaho become the 29th state association to add girls wrestling as an official state championship during the 2021-2022 season. He was the Co-Chairman on the committee to that petitioned the proposal to the Idaho High School Activities Association.

Plato was a 12-year assistant coach on the Thunder's staff before being named in the head coach of the program in February of 2017. In his 20th year as a coach in some capacity of Pocatello's program, he led the Thunder to a 16th-place finish at the 5A State Championship this year.