Hall of Fame honors weekend begins with presentation of plaques Friday night in Stillwater, Okla.
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
Honors weekend at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum began in Stillwater, Okla., on Friday, June 3, as honorees from across the nation came together to celebrate excellence in wrestling’s history.
A reception was held on Friday night at the Hall of Fame, where hundreds of families, friends and fans came together to celebrate this year’s award winners. There was a new schedule of activities this year, and the reception was followed by the Presentation of Honoree’s Plaques.
Lee Roy Smith, the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, started the formal part of the evening by welcoming guests and thanking the sponsors, staff and volunteers.
The evening began with a special presentation that was added to the program. USA Wrestling made its formal presentation of the Man of the Year award to Jeff Levitetz, who also served this year as the chairperson of the committee for the Hall of Fame Honors weekend.
Levitetz was presented his award by USA Wrestling President Stan Dziedzic, Executive Director Rich Bender and USA Wrestling Vice President Jim Ravannack. Levitetz gave a stirring talk about the importance of wrestling in his life and why he has given so much back to the sport.
After this presentation, all guests were invited to the John Vaughan Wing of the Hall of Fame for the Unveiling of the Awards for the honorees.
The first to be honored was the Dave Schultz National High School Excellence Award winner, Troy Nickerson from New York. Nickerson, with his mom and dad there, posed with USA Wrestling President Stan Dziedzic in the area in the Hall of Fame where past Schultz award winners are enshrined.
Next up for recognition was the Medal of Courage winner, the amazing Kyle Maynard of Georgia. Maynard posed with his family and friends in the section where these impressive people who have overcome challenges are recognized. Maynard is the athlete who has overcome congenital amputation to be a wrestler, and receive national media coverage and awards.
Then the Order of Merit winner Stan Zeamer of Pennsylvania was recognized for his contributions to wrestling. He and his wife Ellie Zeamer posed in front of their display area, and were joined by many friends and family for photographs.
The Lifetime Acheivement for Offiicials Award went to an Oklahoma native, Bobby Walton, who posed in the Vince Zuaro Officials Room with many of his family and friends who were there to support him.
A new procedure came with the presentation of the plaques for the Distinguished Members, those who were inducted as members of the Hall of Fame. A black cloth covered each of the displays, and the plaque and memorabilia were unveiled for the first time with them present.
The first to be honored was Bob Bubb, the longtime Clarion Univ. coach and national wrestling leader, who had a large number of family, friends and former athletes from his program in attendance. The group posing in front of his display was so large that photographers had to back up into another room to get them all in the photo frame.
Next up was World Champion and Olympic medalist Chris Campbell, who was joined for photos by friends Willie Gadson and Zeke Jones, along with others who were there to support him.
Zeke Jones, himself a World Champion and Olympic medalist, was next to be honored. Jones had a large group of family and friends there with him to celebrate the moment.
The last plaque that was displayed belonged to J Robinson, the Olympic athlete who went on to be a NCAA champion coach at the Univ. of Minnesota. He posed in a photo with his mother, and Chris Campbell, who was coached by Robinson at the Univ. of Iowa, came over to be photographed with his mentor.
The 29th Honors Weekend continues on Saturday, with the golf tournament, fashion show, honoree luncheon, and to conclude the activities, the Honors Banquet in the evening. Remember that TheMat.com will do a video stream from the Honors Banquet starting on Saturday night.
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