Recently-retired GHSA Associate Director and Wrestling Coordinator Denis Tallini is among seven individuals who will be inducted into the 2018 Georgia class of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The Georgia Chapter inductees will be honored during the “Induction Weekend” of May 5-6. An induction social will be held on Saturday, May 5 at Northwood Country Club in Lawrenceville with the induction banquet on Sunday, May 6 at the Sonesta Gwinnett Place on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth.
Tallini and the other six individuals will be inducted as “Lifetime Service to Wrestling” recipients in recognition of contributing at least 20 years to the sport of wrestling as a coach, referee or contributor. The Georgia inductees into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame are as follows:
Stacey L. Davis - current coach at Holy Innocents'; FILA/Olympic official and former GHSA official and head of Georgia Wrestling Officials Association; many years as coach of Team Georgia USA wrestling teams; former standout at North Carolina.
Jerry Goldstein - Current assistant coach at Lovett, past Georgia Tech and Florida assistant, longtime coach of Georgia Kids programs for Walton HS and Morris Fitness, high school coach in Michigan and Georgia; Georgia Tech Hall of Fame.
William Howington - 44 years of service as a championship winning high school coach (Winder-Barrow, Monroe Area and Dawson County) and/or GHSA official.
Pat McCance - successful head coach at Pebblebrook and Loganville, many years as McEachern associate head coach during their reign as top dog in GHSA wrestling; active member of the Atlanta Takedown Association.
Don St. James - Highly regarded coach at Etowah, Centennial and Cambridge; Former assistant coach at Tennessee; renowned clinician at numerous camps; coached 13 GHSA state champions; former collegiate standout at UGA and the University of Tennessee.
Denis Tallini - recently retired GHSA administrator; 31 years as a high school wrestling official in state of Louisiana where he was a mainstay on the mats for state and national level tournaments; remains active as an official in Georgia for Metro Atlanta WOA; former wrestler at University of Southwestern Louisiana.
Bruce Towson - longtime coach at Henry County and Luella, often coaching both middle school and high school teams; one of the pillars of wrestling in the south metro area; credited by many for the growth and success of wrestling in Henry County area.
