For the second straight year, one of North Carolina’s winningest active wrestling coaches is retiring from a Tri-Nine Conference school. After leading the Falcons in all 11 years of the school’s existence, Green Hope coach Chip Bunn is hanging it up.

According to numbers provided by the N.C. High School Athletic Association, Bunn was fifth among active N.C. wrestling coaches. After going 19-6 this year, he was 423-116 in 19 years.

Bunn was the school’s last original varsity coach still coaching. He was at Broughton prior to coming to Green Hope.

Bunn told athletics director Mickey Bissette of his decision with a week left in the regular season. The coach did not inform his team until after conference tournament.

Bunn’s main reason for retirement is his family. He has two children, ages 19 and 14, and would like to spend more time with them.

“My family had sacrificed for me for 20 years. My wife, Robin, has been unbelievably supportive,” Bunn said. “I had been thinking that over the next two years that that it was probably going to be time. But after talking to her at Christmas and kind of realizing some things, I figured it was now time for me to sit back and put my family first.”

He said he won’t miss the day-long Saturday tournaments. But that feeling may not last for long.

“I already know I’m going to miss wrestling,” Bunn said. “I don’t want to say I’ll never come back to being a head coach because I love it. But right now I would probably say I’m not. If the time or place was right, I’d reconsider.”

Bunn is a GHHS health and physical education teacher who also coaches track and field. He said he hopes to still coach at Green Hope – preferably a junior varsity sport.

After the conference tournament, Bunn said he turned over most of the coaching duties in practice to longtime assistant coach Steve Gursslin. Bunn hopes Gursslin gets a chance at the head coaching vacancy.

“I wanted the kids to start to identify with him,” Bunn said.

Last year’s offseason saw the retirement of Cary’s Jerry Winterton, who finished with 642 wins.

Much like Winterton, Bunn said there was no one specific moment that was his favorite. Instead, he most valued the daily interaction with the wrestlers he coached.

“It’s not what I did for the kids, it’s what the kids did for me,” Bunn said. “It was seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces who were just average kids who liked and loved wrestling as much as I did.”