Southwest Pa. Wrestling Hall of Fame inductees announced

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 5, 2018 | 4:57 PM

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The Southwest Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame announced its 2018 class on Monday.

The group includes NCAA champion Nico Megaludis of Franklin Regional/Penn State, four-time WPIAL champion Larry Hall of Jeannette, four-time WPIAL champion and PIAA champion Colin Johnston of Canon-McMillan and former Montour coach and PIAA official Merle Tournay.

The class will be inducted March 25 during the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic at the Pitt's Fitzgerald Field House.

Megaludis almost had a perfect record at Franklin Regional, where he compiled a 170-1 mark, including 135 consecutive wins to end his career.

He was the standard bearer at Franklin Regional, as he started a string of excellent seasons and individual success.

Megaludis is a member of the WPIAL's most elite club, as he won four WPIAL titles from 2008-11.

He also won three PIAA titles — as a 112-pound sophomore, at 119 pounds as a junior and at 125 pounds as a senior. He was chosen to wrestle in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. His only loss came in the 2008 PIAA semifinals, but he bounced back to place third.

At Penn State, he was a four-time NCAA Division I top-three finisher at 125 pounds. He placed second in the NCAA during his freshman and sophomore years, placed third as a junior, and was first as a redshirt-senior in 2016. He finished with a 119-20 record.

Hall is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in Jeannette history.

He is a member of the WPIAL's most elite club, as he won four WPIAL titles from 2001-04. He won two titles at 103 pounds in his freshman and sophomore years, and then he moved to 119 as a junior and 130 as a senior.

He also wrestled three seasons at West Virginia and came from a wrestling family.

His Uncle Greg (1975) and cousins Derrick (185) and A.J. Graves were PIAA champions and his uncle Roy was a PIAA placewinner. The family combined to win 13 WPIAL titles.

He finished his career with a 127-17 record, which ranks third all-time in career victories at Jeannette. In 2004, he was chosen to wrestle in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic and posted a victory for the WPIAL All-Stars at 130 pounds.

“The school is known for its football and wrestling tradition,” Hall said. “I was glad to be part of it.”

Johnston also is a member of the WPIAL's most elite club, as he won four WPIAL titles from 2005-08 at Canon-McMillan. He was a three-time PIAA top-three finisher. He won a PIAA title as a 112-pound sophomore, placed second as a 125-pound junior, and third as a 135-pound senior.

In 2008, he was chosen to wrestle in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic and Dream Team Classic. Johnston spent his collegiate career at West Virginia, where he served as a team captain in 2013 and 2014.

In December of 2017, he became the first head coach at Pitt-Bradford.

Tournay started coaching in 1976 at Brooke High School in Wellsburg, W.Va. and served as an assistant coach until 1979. In 1979, he became the head coach. He was also selected as the West Virginia Wrestling Coach of the Year.

In 1988, Tournay resurrected the wrestling program at Montour and served as a coach for 25 years.

Tournay also was an accomplished referee for 28 years, from 1983 until 2011.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Franklin Regional, Jeannette, Montour