FRIENDS OF SECTION 5 WRESTLING
WRESTLING HALL OF FAME INDUCTION – 2026

The 2026 Section 5 Wrestling Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at Red Fedele’s Brook House on May 13, 2026. 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, 185 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:

James Cannon coached Brockport High School wrestlers to 122 dual meet victories. His team won the Monroe County title twice. At Brockport he coached 15 individual Monroe County champions, 15 individual Sectional champions, 9 NY State place winners and 1 NY State champion. He also was honored numerous times as “Coach of the Year.” After retiring from Brockport he coached with is son at Fairport where the team won a Class A Team championship in 2017. He currently serves as an assistant at RIT.

David Egan started his wrestling career as a freshman at Marshall reaching the semifinals at the Sectionals. His next 3 years were at Spencerport where he was undefeated during his senior year. During his junior year he was Monroe County Champion and Sectional champion. His accolades include winning the Rochester YMCA Open, Spencerport Lions an Monroe County championships. He continued his career at RIT under Hall of Fame Coach Earl Fuller. He compiled a 10-1 wrestling record as a freshman, a semifinalist at the prestigious Wilkes Tournament and placed third in the West Point Tournament. After returning to RIT from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, he was the champion and outstanding wrestler of the Jewish Center of Buffalo Tournament and silver medalist at the prestigious Niagara District AAU Olympic Freestyle Tournament. Hon. David Eagan is well known for his 31years of judicial service which includes serving as Monroe County Court judge and State Supreme Court judge.

Cody Hutcheson wrestled at Bath Haverling under Coach Jim Fowler from 2004-2009. His overall record was 224-32. He was a 5 time LCAA Champion and selected the Most Outstanding wrestler 3 times. Cody was a 3 time Class Sectional champion, and a 3 time NY State Tournament wrestler . He was NY State Champion at 171 lb. In 2008 and placed 5th in 2009. Cody was also All State in football and later wrestled at Cornell.

Dan Mandara wrestled at Canandaigua and later at Ashland University. He was a 3 time Class A Sectional champion and 3 time Super Sectional champion. At the NY State Tournament he was 4th in 2005, 3rd in 2006 and NY State Champion in 2007. Dan was also 3 time NY Starte Freestyle champion at Schoolboy, Cadet and Junior levels He had 150 varsity wins. At Ashland he was Midwest regional champion and 2 time national qualifier. His college career was cut short by concussion issues. He is the son of Hall of Fame coach Tom Mandara.

Richard Romeo has had a long and distinguished wrestler career. As a wrestler he was coached by legendary coaches Lou Giani at Huntington High and Don Murray at Brockport. He was varsity wrestling coach at North Rose Wolcott for 6 years followed by a long career at at Canandaigua. At NRW he won 3 league championships and had wrestlers advance to the NY State Tournament where 2 were place winners. He also had “ Coach of the Year” awards. At Canandaigua he had 51 Class Sectional champions, 29 NY State Tournament representatives, 14 wrestlers who were NY State place winners, 4 NY State Champions and 268 dual meet victories. He has also been involved in coaching wrestling All Star Teams and is the NYS Scholastic Representative of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Matt Smith has officiated wrestling for 30 years. His Number 1 rating by coaches in Section V has earned him the “Official of the Year” award more times than any other Section V wrestling official. He has worked Class Sectionals and State Qualifiers for the past 25 years. He has officiated the NY State Dual meet championships twice. During his career he also officiated the NY State Tournament 10 times and was rated in the top 5. He would have officiated even more times but because WOA officials cannot work more than 2 consecutive years and cannot work because he is a member of the NYSWOA Executive Committee. He is currently the secretary of the NY State Wrestling Officials Association. Matt was a is past president of the WOA of Section 5 and is currently secretary of the NYSWOA. He is also a member of the Friends of Wrestling Committee.