GLEN ALLEN, Va. ? Long-time VMI head wrestling coach John “Rocky” Trudgeon recently joined exclusive company, as he was inducted into the Virginia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in proceedings held at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel in late April.
Trudgeon just concluded his 24th season at the helm of the VMI wrestling program, where he has led the Keydets to unprecedented levels of success. He has been named the Virginia State Coach of the Year on three occasions (1993, 1994 and 2004) and is a four-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year honoree (1994, 1995, 1999 and 2000).
Among his other accomplishments in Lexington, Trudgeon has coached the Keydets to three SoCon Co-Championships and even saw his squad receive votes in the Amateur Wrestling News Top 25 Coaches’ Poll at the end of the 1995-96 season. He has coached six Top 12 individual finishers in the NCAA Championships as well.
A 1975 graduate of William & Mary and a NCAA Division I National Championship qualifier in his senior season, Trudgeon came to VMI after serving as the head wrestling coach at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Va. During his eight seasons at Lafayette, he led his team to a pair of district titles and a third-place showing in the AAA State Tournament. He coached six AAA state champions and was named Peninsula District Coach of the Year in 1982.
“It was indeed an honor and quite humbling for me to be recognized in this way,” said Trudgeon. “The event was first-class, with representatives from the National Wrestling Coaches Association and the National Hall of Fame, former VMI wrestlers and family and friends from the world of amateur wrestling present.
“I appreciate the special opportunities I have been given by Lafayette High School and at the Virginia Military Institute. These are very special places filled with very special people. It has been my honor to coach wrestling to an outstanding group of student-athletes, and I hope that the lessons they learned from the great sport of wrestling have helped them to reach their potential in their years as successful adults. I could coach another thirty-plus years and never give back to wrestling all that it has given me.”
Other inductees into the Hall of Fame this year included Donald Booth, Sr. of the Peninsula Wrestling Association; Terry Brueser, President of the Northern Va. Officials Association; Bill Cameron, Head Coach at Stonewall Jackson HS; Rex Cox, Head Coach at Brookville HS and Mike Furiness, Head Coach at York HS.