Inductees
Michael Provenzano
Year: 2022
Gender: Male
About Michael:
While wrestling at Huntington Beach High School in Orange County, Mike compiled a record of 120-12 and three CIF Division Championships. Provenzano then placed 1st at 115 pounds, 2nd and 3rd in the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet. In the CIF State Championships, he was 4th in 1979 and 2nd in 1980.
Mike was a four-time Western Regional National Champion in Greco-Roman and in Freestyle, and he placed 4th in the Junior College Nationals while wrestling at Arizona Western College in Yuma. He wrestled at 118 pounds for Coach Vaughn Hitchcock Cal Poly in the 1983-84 season.
Provenzano became the Head Wrestling Coach at Fountain Valley High School, and he led the teams from 1990-2003 with numerous league championships and high places in CIF Divisions. He has been the Head Coach at Westminster High School since 2004, and Mike has coached many individual CIF champions, Masters Meet placers and State qualifiers, including last year’s OC Girls wrestler of the Year, Aine Drury.
He was the Tournament Director of the Five Counties Tournament from 1990 to 2000. The two-day Five Counties event is considered a preview of the Southern Section, Masters and State Championship tournaments because the field usually attracts many of the state’s best teams and wrestlers.
He has been Tournament Director for the Cossarek Classic Invitational hosted at Westminster High School since 2008, and he has also directed the Pride Challenge Tournament for JV and freshmen since 2010.
This Seeding Director for CIF Divisions, the Masters Meet and Five Counties was Tournament Director of the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet from 1990-95, and he was also a CIF Tournament Director in 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017. He served on the CIF Wrestling Advisory Board for 25 years, and he has been a member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association, the Orange County Wrestling Coaches Association, and the Golden West League.
Provenzano received the Award of Excellence from the University of California-Irvine for fostering excellence in student-athletes. He also received the Coaches of Character Award from the Orange County Athletic Directors Association. A Coach of the Year and Teacher of the Year last year, Mike was the founder of Restore the Roar 5K Run to help less fortunate students attending Westminster High School.