CLEVELAND, Ohio- On Saturday, March 8, three honorees will be enshrined at Woodling Gymnasium. Former Cleveland State wrestler Matt Ghaffari, followed by long time EWL Wrestling secretary/treasurer Tom Tontimonia, and University of of Pittsburgh's coach Randy Stottlemyer, will be inducted into the 2014 EWL Hall of Fame.
A native of Paramus, New Jersey, Matt Ghaffari is known as one of the top Greco-Roman wrestlers in United State history, earning a silver medal in the 286 division at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Ghaffari wrestled two seasons at Cleveland State, compiling a 56-11-2record after transferring from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He went 26-4-1 as a heavy weight in 1982-83, winning titles at both the Ohio Open and All-Ohio Championships. He was 5-0-1 against Eastern Wrestling league competition, helping CSU to a second place finish. Ghaffari came back in 1983-84 posting a 30-7-1 record, setting a team record with 14 pins while helping CSU to a No. 9 national ranking. He qualified for the NCAA Championships, but lost his opening round match. His wrestling career took off after graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in both 1992 and 1996, won nine Pan American Games in the Greco-Roman Championships, seven U.S. National Championships, and four World Cup titles. He claimed silver medals at both the 1991 and 1998 World Championships, and a bronze in 1995. For advancing Greco-Roman wrestling through significant and ground breaking achievements, Matt Ghaffari is honored as a distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
After teaching and coaching for five years and serving as a graduate assistant at Kent State, Tom came to Cleveland State as the ticket and promotions manager in 1980. He later served as the ticket and business manager, assistant athletic director for finance, and was promoted to associate athletic director for finance and operations in 1994. Among his duties as associate athletic director, he was the supervisor of the wrestling program. In that capacity he served as the tournament director of the NCAA Division I National Championship in 1998. His additional duties have included serving as tournament director for two Eastern Wrestling League championships and two National Wrestling Coaches Association, along with National Dual Meet Championships. He also served as the tournament director for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball first and second round in 2000, 2005,and 2011. Tom retired from full time duty with Cleveland State on July 1, 2013. He now serves the department in a part-time capacity. He has served as the Eastern Wrestling League secretary/treasurer since 2000 and will continue to do so.
Former, University of Pittsburgh head wrestling coach Randy Stottlemyer, is one of the most accomplished and longest tenured coaches in the history of intercollegiate athletics at Pitt. Stottlemyer's name is synonymous with Pitt wrestling as his involvement with the program spans nearly four decades. He was a three-time All-American for the Panthers from 1974-1978. Following his graduation from the University in 1978, Stottlemyer served Pitt as an assistant coach for one year before taking over as head coach in 1979. Leading the program the past 34 seasons, he compiled a 304-230-12 record and is the winningest coach in Pitt wrestling history. The past four seasons were among the Panthers' most impressive under Stottlemyer's watch. Since 2010, Pitt has won three Eastern Wresting League (EWL) regular season championships and three EWL Tournament titles. Pitt finished ninth nationally in 2012 and 15th in 2013. For his career, Stottlemyer produced 56 EWL individual champions, 33 All-Americans and three national champions. He also was selected the EWL Coach of the Year five times.
Here is the following schedule for Saturday, March 8:
Session I- 10:00 a.m.
Session II- 5:00 p.m.
Finals- 7:00 p.m.
For more information and tickets please call 216-687-4848.
