Brookfield and New Farifield High Schools, Official
Brewster, New York
Rick Sherman
East Lyme High School
East Lyme, CT
Carl Snitkin
Norwich Free Academy
Norwich, CT
Roger Vertefeuille
Bulkeley High School
Hartford, CT
John A. Vino
Official
Stonington, CT
Arthur Peter Ziegler
East Lyme and Montville High Schools
Oakdale, CT
Medal of Courage Award
PFC Jeffrey Francis Braun
State of Connecticut
Mark C. Lawrence
State of Connecticut
Andrew Levitt
State of Connecticut
Outstanding American Award
Gralyn Harris
State of Connecticut
Richard M. Larrabee
State of Connecticut
John Rowland
State of Connecticut
Erik Weihenmayer
State of Connecticut
2010 Induction Banquet
Six state men inducted in Wrestling Hall of Fame
MASHANTUCKET, Conn., April 10, 2010 -- Six men from Connecticut were inducted in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and were honored in a banquet in April by the Connecticut chapter of the Oklahoma-based Hall of Fame and museum.
Former Holy Cross coach and athletic director James Cunningham, former Berlin High coach Jim Day, former Maloney High coach and long-time official Ray Mainville, former Danbury High coach and official Michael Morrisand current Derby High coach Walter Jadach were inducted and received Lifetime Achievement awards. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Gralyn Harris, a former wrestler at Holy Cross in Waterbury, was inducted and honored as an Outstanding American.
The induction banquet was held Saturday, April 10, 2010, at the Grand Pequot Tower at Foxwoods Resort and Casino.
The six inductees joined 23 other Connecticut men previously inducted in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Lifetime Achievement award is for coaches, officials, media or contributors with at least 20 years of service. The Outstanding American award is for former wrestlers who have received state or national acclaim in his/her chosen profession.
Each award recipient is permanently recognized in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Stillwater, Oklahoma) with an embossed name plaque, and each receives a plaque and jacket to commemorate the very special occasion.
The Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors individuals in three ways:
The Lifetime Service Award Program, coordinated by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, is designed to honor and recognize dedicated wrestling people for their years of commitment to young people. The award is not about win/loss records. It is about a person’s dedicated efforts to help young people to not only succeed in wrestling, but also in life.
The Medal of Courage Award is given to a wrestler who has overcome overwhelming adversity to be successful on the mats and in his own life.
The Outstanding American Award is presented to an individual who was a former wrestler and has received state or national acclaim in his/her chosen profession.
Each award recipient is permanently recognized in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Stillwater, Oklahoma) with an embossed name plaque, and each receives a plaque and jacket to commemorate this very special occasion.
Connecticut Chapter, National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Welcome!
Welcome to the home of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Connecticut Chapter is a direct extension of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Chapter and Museum in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The Connecticut Chapter provides outreach and support for the National Hall. Our chapter was formed to honor committed coaches, officials, contributors and other deserving individuals from Connecticut.
Nominations
Any person may nominate an individual for induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame by the Connecticut Chapter. Please complete and submit the nomination form below.
For any questions regarding nominations and submission of information, please contact Mark Cammisa, Vice President, Nominations by e-mail at markcammisa@comcast.net
From left to right, Ray Mainville, Gralyn Harris, Mike Morris, Jim Day, Buster Jadach and Jim Cunningham
The Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame has selected two outstanding student athletes to receive $750 college scholarships. New Milford’s Conor Kirkegard has been selected to receive the Career Achievement scholarship while Griswold’s Brandon Walsh has been chosen to receive the Scholar Athlete scholarship.
Click on the link below for more information on the two scholarship winners.
Six outstanding individuals from the Connecticut wrestling community have been selected for induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Connecticut chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame will host an induction dinner on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at MGM Grand Hotel at Foxwoods Resort Casino to honor these men for their contribution to the sport of wrestling and our communities. The men are:
n John Chacho, the former coach at Staples High in Westport and former official
n Frank Chaves, the former coach at Simsbury High and a current official
n Ken DeStefanis, the former coach at Central Connecticut State University and current youth wrestling club coach
n Staff Sergeant Joseph Kapacziewski, a former wrestler at Bristol Eastern High, who is currently an Army Ranger. He has been on multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
n Bernard Nasser, a long-time official and former coach at Fitch High in Groton
n Ricky Shook, the coach at Danbury High School
Chaco, Chaves, DeStefanis, Nasser and Shook will receive a Lifetime Achievement award for coaches, officials, media or contributors with at least 20 years of service. Kapacziewski is being honored with a Medal of Courage, an award for a wrestler or former wrestler who has overcome insurmountable challenges.
Each award recipient will be permanently recognized in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Stillwater, Oklahoma) with an embossed name plaque, and each receives a plaque and jacket. These six will join 29 other inductees from Connecticut in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Make your plans now and save the date to attend the 2013 induction dinner. Tickets will go on sale in October.
An initiative is underway by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame to recognize men and women in the wrestling community who have served our country as part of the armed forces. The Connecticut chapter is looking to assist by compiling a list of Connecticut wrestlers, coaches and officials that are currently serving in the military or served in the past. Here is the information we’re looking for:
nFormer wrestlers – Name; high school; year of graduation; years wrestled; branch of military; years served in military; current hometown
nCurrent or former coaches – Name; schools coached at; coaching title; years coached; branch of military; years served in military; current hometown
nCurrent or former officials – Name; years served as an official; branch of the military; years served in military; current hometown
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and its Connecticut chapter would like to recognize the brave men and women who put their lives on the line each day to protect our freedom and our country. Please e-mail your information and/or questions to Gerry deSimas at CTwrestling7@yahoo.com, Nick Grosso at raiders818075@yahoo.com or any other member of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. http://ctwrestling7.homestead.com/HallofFame.html
An initiative to recognize service to our country
Congratulate the inductees
You can place your own congratulations to your favorite inductee or all of the inductees in our 2013 banquet program. You can place a message of congratulations for $25 or take out a quarter page, half page or full page ad. Click on this PDF for all of the details.
