Chris Bono
South Dakota
Chris started wrestling at the age of five in Philadelphia, PA. He followed in the footsteps of older brother, Ernie. Chris had instant success at this age, pinning competitors who were age 10 and 11.
His family moved to Florida when Chris was in 4th grade. Wrestling began in junior high in Florida, therefore, he attended junior high/senior high practices but was not allowed to compete at their level. In 7th grade, Chris made the varsity team at The Bolles School in Jacksonville. He wrestled at 98 lbs. placing 4th in the high school state tournament. 9th grade was another 4th place finish and then on to 3 state titles his Sophomore, Junior, and Senior seasons. Chris also wrestled freestyle in High School, claiming cadet National Runner‐Up status and was a Junior National All‐American.
He accepted a scholarship to Iowa State University where as a Freshman had a losing record and barely escaped to the NCAA tournament. Chris then went on to be a 3‐time All American and a 1996 NCAA Champion. He is currently 3rd on the ISU all‐time career wins list. Graduation came in 1997 and Chris then became the assistant wrestling coach for ISU under Bobby Douglas. In 2005, he became an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee‐Chattanooga, then head coach in 2006. In 2009 he moved back to Ames as assistant coach under Kevin Jackson.
Chris retired from coaching in 2010 to reside in Lexington, SC, employed with Stryker as a sales representative for endoscopic medical equipment. He’s now back in wrestling as head coach for a fairly young Division I South Dakota State University team, with the 2012‐13 season his first at SDSU.
Wes Creason
Iowa
AAU Wrestling Involvement Local: Wes was one of organizers of Iowa’s very first AAU tournament in Iowa. He helped developed the first Iowa State AAU Kids championships that had over 1500 wrestlers in 2015. District: Wes has served on the state wrestling committee for 25 years. He has served the last five years as the district/state chairman.
The Iowa district has grown to 8,000 AAU members under his leadership. National: Wes has served on the National AAU Executive committee for many years. He helped organize and direct the Middle School National Duals for the past 15 years. The tournament has grown to nearly 40 teams under his direction. He was named AAU Wrestling Man of the Year in 2014.
International: Wes led an AAU team to the Russia in the 1990’s. Wrestling accomplishments outside of the AAU Competitor: Wes wrestled at Coe College located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He wrestled for North Polk High School Coaching: 1994 Iowa State Champions – 3A. Iowa High School Class 3A Coach of the Year.
Wes coached several teams to the Iowa State Dual Meet Championships. Wes’s teams won over 400 dual meets in Iowa while wrestling a very tough schedule.
Wes coached 7 teams at Indianola to top 10 finishes and over 100 individual state qualifiers. He coached at Bondurant‐Farrar, Central Decutar, and Central Dewitt. Officiating: He has had a long and sad history with officials. He told me once that he never met one that he liked. Administrative: An active member of Iowa High School Coaches and Officials Association Executive Committee. State Director for Iowa AAU Wrestling.
Wes directs the Lee Pamulak Middle School National Duals, 6th Grade AAU National Duals, and the 9/10 National Duals. Former Athletic Director at Bondurant‐Farrar High School
Bobby Douglas
Iowa 
Don Elsea
Southeastern1998-Started officiating AAU wrestling in Tennessee calling Region & State .
2003-present: Head Official AAU Spring Youth National
2003-present: Head Official AAU Elementary School National Duals
2006-2018: Finance Chair & Head Official Team Tennessee AAU Wrestling
2006 started a mentor program training new officials for AAU & TSSAA, taking
new officials to AAU tournaments throughout the south and doing referee clinics.
Sixteen of those officials have called State and National Tournaments.
2008-preseent: Serves as an official, a Team Captain & a Building Manager at
AAU Scholastic Duals.
2008- Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame TN Chapter
2010-prsent: Evaluator for AAU Wrestling Officials.
2011 AAU National Folkstyle Official of the Year.
2012-2013: Co Operational Director Team Tennessee AAU Wrestling.
2014 TN AAU Wrestling Official of the Year
2015 Inducted into AAU National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
2017 Inducted into Red Bank High School Hall of Fame
2019 TSSAA A.F. Bridges Award for Outstanding Official (for all sports)
2021 AAU National Wrestling Sustained Superior Performance Award
2022 Inducted into Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame
2022 Inducted into TN AAU Wrestling Hall of Fame (Inaugural class)
2022 AAU District Volunteer of the Year (Southeastern District)
Serves on AAU National Wrestling Executive Committee.
Serves on AAU National Wrestling Finance Committee.
Serves as AAU National Wrestling Treasury.
Serves as SEAAU Finance Chair.
Has been a certified TSSAA Wrestling Official for 50 years
Has called 45 High School State Tournaments
Has officiated over 60 National Wrestling Tournaments in 13 different states.
Has served on the board of Tennessee Society of Enrolled Agents and Tennessee
Association of Tax Professionals.
Is an Enrolled Agent licensed by the Unites States Treasury Department to
represent taxpayers for audits, collections and appeals before all administration
levels of the Internal revenue Service.
Has a Fellow from National Tax Practice Institute.
Owns Financial Management Network, Inc. which handles Insurance, Taxes and
IRS Representatives.
Married to wife Pat for 42 years and has a 28 year old son Jonathan.
Darlene & Rodney Grainger
Virginia
Rodney Grainger first wrestled in his hometown of Virginia Beach Virginia at Virginia Beach Middle school in 1978 and then at First Colonial High School as a freshman and from that year on at Cox High School, where he met his future wife, Darlene. Rodney was also an accomplished football player and briefly played at the University of Maryland before an injury ended his college career. However, Rodney and Darlene had married shortly after high school, and a family was on the way.
During the early years of their marriage the young couple worked for Rodney’s father at Grainger’s Automotive Repair as their family grew. Sons William, Rodney II (also known as “2”) followed by daughter Amanda, and lastly Joey.
As the children grew they took up sports, all excelled at baseball, but it was wrestling that drew the family into a whole new world of weekly competitions and travel. The Great Neck Wrestling Club was vibrant club with multiple past state champions working out with the young Grainger clan weekly. This is when Rodney and Darlene picked up where the club needed them the most, organizing and running tournaments. Rodney “2” became a varsity wrestler at Cox while Rodney and Darlene assisted then State Chairman Mike Newbern in running tournaments at all levels across the state of Virginia.
Rodney ran the Great Bridge wrestling club for 4 years and that provided 6 state champions for the high school program. Rodney has been an official since 2003 of all three styles of wrestling. And has officiated all over the country for AAU and other groups.
After “2” graduated from high school, Joey was entering middle school. The Grainger’s had moved to Norfolk, however the middle school that served their neighborhood did not have a wrestling coach. Rod stepped in and the couple’s work with amateur wrestling would continue to grow. Soon they would find themselves not only working Virginia’s expanding program, along with the AAU Middle School Nationals, the AAU Grand Nationals, the Ohio Tournament of Champions and beyond. Rodney was the 2nd Lt. Governor for Virginia for over 12 years and has been the wrestling sports chairman from 2003 and still is. He is an Executive board member since 2003.Rodney and Darlene has been involved with wrestling for over 25 years and 20 years with AAU.
As Joey prepared to enter Great Bridge High School where he would become an outstanding three-time medalist, Rodney took the reigns as 2004 Virginia AAU
Wrestling Chairman. The Grainger’s tireless efforts resulted in the growth of AAU Wrestling membership in Virginia to reach 4000 members! They have since continued their work to include tournament management of the AAU’s Disney Duals in Orlando, numerous AAU Junior Olympic Games across the United States, as well as notable tournaments like the Beast of the East and The War at the Shore and the Virginia Duals for the last 12 years.
Rodney has also served on the AAU Wrestling Executive Committee the past ten years. Although the children are all grown, they continue to assist Rodney and Darlene throughout the year to make Virginia AAU Wrestling a vital and important opportunity for the youth of Virginia to compete at home and across America.
