SOURCE: armdrag.com

April 07, 2024

FRIENDS OF SECTION 5 WRESTLING
WRESTLING HALL OF FAME INDUCTION - 2024

RESERVATION FORM (PDF)

The 2024 Section 5 Wrestling Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at Red Fedele's Brook House on May 15, 2024. Names of the inductees will be added to the Hall of Fame Plaque located in the lobby of the Brook House. Since the Section 5 Wrestling Hall of Fame was started in 1994, 173 people have been inducted. Tickets are $50 per person and must be purchased by May 1. You can get more information by calling 585-750-1541 or at fmarotta@rochester.rr.com. A banquet flyer is attached.

Here are some brief comments about the inductees:

Mike Cronmiller Sr. (Marshall/Lilac/MCC)
Mike will be inducted posthumously. Mike is an alumnus of John Marshall High in Rochester where he was captain of the wrestling team. He later competed at Olivet College and participated in the 1964 Olympic trials. After earning his doctorate, he taught at Monroe Community College and coached wrestling. His wrestlers brought national prominence to the school. He coached Greco and Freestyle teams in international competition. Mike started the Rochester Lilac Wresting Club which gave opportunities to many outstanding area wrestlers. He also coached at the high school level at East Rochester and Livonia. He is a member of the Region II Jr. College Hall of Fame, City-Catholic League Hall of Fame an Olivet College Hall of Fame.

Ken Juergens (Hilton)
Ken wrestled under Hall of Fame coaches Al Krotz and Chuck Partridge. He was team captain and an outstanding wrestler. He later wrestled at Division I US Military Academy at West Point where he a starter and 3 year varsity letter winner. He was 10th Mountain Division Battalion Commander and that Battalion wrestling team was undefeated and won the Sports Commander-In-chief Award twice. He retired from the US Army with the rank of Colonel.

Mike McInally (Byron-Bergen)
Mike was a 4 time Section V Class Champion and a 3 time NYS Qualifier Champion. He was NY State Tournament Champion in 2006 and runner up in 2004 and 2005. He won numerous invitational tournaments during his high school career, often winning Outstanding Wrestler awards. While attending RIT he won the RIT Invitational, Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Championship and NY State Intercollegiate Championship. He was a 2 time All American, finishing second twice at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. He currently runs the Mongoose Wrestling Club and provides training for all age groups.

Leo Rhodes (Official)
Leo has been a Section V wrestling official for 28 years and also officiates on the college level. He has officiated at 11 NY State Tournaments and at the NY State Dual Meet Championships. He has served as Vice President and President of the Wrestling Officials Association of Section 5 and currently is a member of the Executive Council. His achievents and contributions were recognized when he was awarded the Bernabi and Terry Justice Awards. Leo is the founder of the City-Catholic Wrestling Association and set up their Hall of Fame He also served as President of the United Sports Boards Council and negotiated contracts with Section V on behalf of all sports officials.

Dean Salvaggio (Webster Schroeder)
Dean coached at Greece Olympia before moving on to a long career at Webster Schroeder where he had 254 career wins, 22 representatives to the NY State Wrestling Tournament where he had 2 state champions and 12 place finishers. He had dozens of Monroe County and Class Sectional champions. Based on his high school career he was inducted into the City-Catholic League Wrestling Hall of Fame. At the University of at Buffalo, Dean was a NCAA Division III All American 3 times and a national finalist.

Matt Sheldon (Hornell)
Matt coached Hornell wrestling from 1988-2006 and built the program into one of Section V prominence. He sent 20 of his wrestlers to the NY State Wrestling Tournament. One was a State champion, 2 were runners-up and others placed. His teams won 3 LCAA League titles, 3 LCAA Tournament titles, 3 Steuben County team titles, 4 Sullivan Trail Conference titles and 3 Section V Class championships as well as many invitational tournament championships. His dual meet record was 146-36-2. Matt is also a member of the LCAA Hall of Fame and Hornell High School Sports Hall of Fame.