Inductees
Raymond Rodi
Year: 2016
Gender: Male
About Raymond:
Born in Pittsburgh, Ray attended college at Ohio Northern University and started coaching wrestling as a varsity assistant at Lima High School in Ohio from 1973-76 until he became Head Coach at Alliance High School from 1976-80 where he had a State Champion, Rick Horton.
After moving to California, Rodi taught at Edgewood High School in West Covina where he served as Head Wrestling Coach and as an Assistant Football Coach from 1980-87. His teams won three League Championships and a CIFSouthern Section Championship in 1983. Scott Schumm was a three-time State Placer for the team, winning a State Championship in 1985. Ray moved on to Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley where he was Head Wrestling Coach from 1987-1998. He retired from teaching there in 2007. His teams won seven League Championships, and they were CIF-SS Division Champions in four consecutive seasons: 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994.
They were runner-up in 1995. The team added CIF-SS Dual Meet Championships in 1993 and in 1994, finishing as California State runner-up in 1994. They were CIF-SS Dual Meet runner-up in 1995. Ray was selected as the Riverside County Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1992. Rodi coached the Abas brothers, Stephen and Norman who both won State Championships for Canyon Springs in 1994. Stephen, a four-time State Placer, was a threetime NCAA Champion and Silver Medalist in the 2004 Olympics. Ray also coached another pair of brothers who won State Championships together: Luis Blanco, a three-time State Placer who won a State Championship in 1996, and his brother, Carlos, a three-time State Placer who won State Championships in 1996 and 1997.
Serving as a member of the Southern California Wrestling Officials Association and the Inland Empire Wrestling Officials Association, Ray has officiated CIF Finals from 2001-13, CIF Dual Meet Championships from 2001-08, and League Finals from 2000-13. He also officiated at the Temecula Valley Battle for the Belt, the Riverside County Championships, the Raul Huerta Memorial at Canyon Springs, and tournaments at El Dorado, Edison and Carter High Schools. Rodi was on the Volunteer Staff for the 1984 Olympics, was a volunteer scorer for the World Wrestling Championships in 2015, and has served on the CIF Wrestling Advisory Committee since 1983 and with the SCWOA.