Chris Kallai of Wadsworth, Ohio was named USA Wrestling FILA Junior/University Person of the Year. This award goes to a leader(s) who works with athletes and programs on the FILA Junior (ages 17-20) and University (ages 18-24) levels.

Kallai serves as the state chairperson for USA Wrestling Ohio, a position he has held for five years.

He is an event director for the combined University and FILA Cadet National Championships, which has been hosted in Akron, Ohio for the last four years (2007-2010). The event is scheduled to be held in Akron again this spring.

The University Nationals is for athletes who are 18-24 years old and whose class has graduated high school. This group includes many of the best college wrestlers in the nation, as well as top competitors from the four branches of the U.S. military. The University Nationals provides competition in men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling. 

Both competitions have shown substantial growth in size and quality of competition since they have been hosted in Akron. 

Kallai is also a tournament director for the U.S. Open Wrestling Championships and the FILA Junior National Championships which were held in Cleveland, Ohio in 2010 and will return there in 2011. 

He was named USA Wrestling’s Volunteer of the Month in May 2007.

Kallai serves on USA Wrestling’s Junior Executive Committee, and is Vice-Chair of the Junior Council. He is also a member of USA Wrestling’s International Exchange Committee.

Kallai has been a high school wrestling coach for 28 years, currently serving as an assistant coach at Uniontown Lake High School. He previously coached at Wadsworth High School and Barberton High School. He also has college coaching experience at both Malone College and Muskingum College. He is a graduate of Kent State University.

Chris comes from a wrestling family, where he and all of his brothers were wrestlers. He competed for Coventry High School in the Akron area.

His immediate family is very involved in wrestling at all levels. His wife Debbie is an active pairing official, who works many of the major events in the nation. Debbie is also part of the local organizing committee leadership for the national and regional events which are held in Ohio.

All three of their sons are currently mat officials, Christopher Jr., Matthew, and Josh. The sons were all Ohio state high school medalists, with Christopher and Matthew winning state titles and Josh placing third. All three boys also competed on the college level and remain very active in wrestling. Daughter-in-law Monica is also a pairing official. 

“We live wrestling all year round,” said Kallai of his family’s active leadership in the sport.

He has served as a teacher of construction trades at Wadsworth High School for 18 years. Kallai also runs his own construction business, CNK Construction.

FILA Junior/University Person of the Year
1994 - Bill Crum, New Jersey
1995 - Brad Traviola, Illinois
1996 - Rich Estrella, Colorado, Rob Hermann, Florida, Dan Mello, Virginia and Tony Thomas, Georgia
1997 - Doug Paulson, Minnesota
1998 - Ginny Errett, Indiana
1999 - Joe Russell, Minnesota
2000 - Mike Hess, Washington
2001 - Norm Osteen, South Carolina
2002 - Chris Horpel, California
2003 - Dick Wince and P.J. Smith, North Carolina
2004 - Charles Burton, Nebraska
2005 - Tony Ersland, Illinois
2006 - Gordy Morgan, Minnesota
2007 - Don Murray, New York
2008 - Tim Cysewski, Illinois
2009 - Scott Green, New York
2010 - Chris Kallai, Ohio