Former Stafford Coach Elected To National Wrestling Hall Of Fame

STAFFORD, CT — A longtime coach at Stafford High School is among nine outstanding individuals from the state’s wrestling community who have been selected for induction into the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Shirzad Ahmadi, a native of Iran, was wrestling coach at Stafford for 22 years, and has coached collegiately in Division I at the University of Hartford, Division II at American International College, and as a Division III assistant at Trinity and Western New England. He was an alternate at 52 kilograms for the Iranian Olympic team in 1976.

While coaching, he continued to compete, winning 28 U.S. national championships in the Veterans division (age 35 and over) and 16 Veterans world championships. He came to the U.S. to pursue degrees in higher education and became an American citizen in 1984. In 2015, he became the first American wrestler to win a Veterans world title in freestyle and Greco-Roman in the same year.

Throughout his career, Ahmadi has taught science, biology, chemistry and physics at the high school and collegiate level. He is currently teaching at Eastern Connecticut State University, and has been an assistant coach at Trinity College for the past 11 years

The other new electees are:

• Drew Black, head coach at Wesleyan University
• Fritz Blasius, benefactor to many local charities and organizations
• Gerry deSimas Jr., longtime sportswriter, founder of Connecticut Wrestling Online
• Dave D’Alessio, former coach and teacher in Madison
• David Green, head coach at Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury
• Ted Oczkowski, coach, official and administrator
• Chris Piel, head coach at New Milford High School
• Ray Southland, longtime official and middle school principal

D'Alessio and Southland will be inducted posthumously.

An induction dinner is scheduled for April 26, 2025 at Mohegan Sun to honor these men for their contributions to the sport of wrestling and their communities.

All nine will receive a Lifetime Service award for coaches, officials, or contributors with at least 20 years of service.

They will be permanently recognized in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma with an embossed name plaque, and each receives a plaque and jacket to commemorate this special occasion. They will join 51 other inductees in the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Anyone interested in obtaining tickets is asked to email ctwrestling7@yahoo.com with your email address for a message when they go on sale.

Learn more about the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame by going to the chapter’s own website or the chapter website at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.