Allen Abraham

Allen Abraham is currently a professor with a specialization in motor learning and the associate chairman of the Department of Kinesiology at San Francisco State University.   From 1963 to 1982, he was also the hard driving, focused wrestling coach at San Francisco State University.  During that time he won eight Far Western Conference Championships, compiling an overall record of 172‐111 while finishing with a conference best of 65‐23.  His Far Western Conference Coach of the Year awards are numerous with wins in 1975‐77‐79‐80 and 1982.  

Mr. Abraham was able to bridge the gap and work with different national wrestling organizations.  He was voted Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Wrestling Association from 1972 to 1975,   was President of the NCAA Division II Coaches from 1978 to 1979, presented the much sought after FILA Bronze Medal for his efforts in the International landscape, and was a member of the AAU Wrestling Committee from 1977 to 1983 where he served as president, vice president and chairman of the Personnel Committee. 

Allen’s foreign assignments included Junior World Greco‐Roman Coach and Team Leader to the 1976 Junior World Championships in Poland, 1976 AAU‐USA Olympic Staff Member in Montreal, Canada and AAU Team Leader of the U S Freestyle Team to Yugoslavia in 1981 and Canada in 1982.  On a national level, he served as the Director of the National AAU Olympic Training Camp from 1977‐1982 and was tournament director for the National AAU Greco –Roman Wrestling Tournament in 1977.  

Allen’s numerous honors and awards include AAU Man of the Year Award in 1982, the Martin Olivarri Award for distinguished service and contributions to Bay Area Amateur Athletic Union Wrestling in 1983, the Bay Area’s Distinguished Leadership Award in 1995, and induction into the San Francisco State University Hall of Fame in 2001.

Allen’s career in wrestling went from competing as a collegiate wrestler where he was a Pacific Coast Intercollegiate finalist at 191 lbs and won the Far Western Heavyweight Championship in 1961, to being a successful collegiate coach, to serving wrestling on a national and international level in several leadership rolls.  His “get it done” attitude has been well known and respected by USA and AAU athletes and administrators for over fifty years. 

Ross Thomas

Ross Thomas began his wrestling career competing in tournaments in high school, college, the Marine Corp and AAU open tournaments.  He placed third in the state championships in Delaware while in high school, was the Virginia State Champion in 1982 while attending Virginia Tech from 1980 to 1982, won the Mid‐Eastern Atlantic Conference Championship two times while attending Delaware State,  was on the  All‐Marine Wrestling Team in 1987 ‐1988 and was the Middle Atlantic AAU Freestyle/Greco Open Champion and Outstanding Wrestler in 1990.

Ross  gained coaching experience when he was the head wrestling coach at POLYTECH High School in Woodside, Delaware from 1996‐1998, however, the largest part of his wrestling life has been his 28 total years spent as an official.  Ross has been the state rules interpreter in Delaware from 2002 to the present time and has officiated at 14 state high school tournaments in Delaware in 1993 and then 1998 to the present time.  From 1992 to the present, he has officiated at various events in the NCAA.  Some of the events  Ross has officiated at include: NCAA Division I Nationals  from 2007 to 2010; Big Ten Conference Tournament  in 2010; NCAA Division I East Regional in 1997 and from 2001 to 2004; Atlantic Coast Conference from 2005 to 2009; Reno Tournament of Champions  three times; Lone Star Duals five times;  the Virginia Duals from 2001 to the present; Beast of the East 16 times with 10 of those as head official; Sierra Nevada Classic from 1998 to 2003; California Classic in 1998; High School Nationals three times and the Ohio Ironman twice.

Ross has worked many AAU National Tournaments including the Disney Duals from 1998 to the present including one year as assistant head official; Folkstyle Worlds from 1998 to 2006 in Detroit, Tulsa and Des Moines; Middle School Duals one year in Chicago; Ironman Folkstyle Head Official from 2004 to 2006 in Bloomsburg/Millersville, PA; Grand Nationals Folkstyle in 2010 in Butte, MT and Southern Nationals in 2004 in North Carolina.  

Ross’s awards include Delaware Official of the Year in 2001, and AAU Folkstyle Official of the Year twice in 2001 and in 2008.  

Ross served in the Marine Corp for eight years where he was an Infantry Officer with the rank of Captain.  He is currently completing his 17th year of teaching Accounting at POLYTECH High School in Woodside, Delaware.  In addition to officiating wrestling, Ross is also a slow pitch softball umpire and will be working the Men’s Class “A” Nationals in Oklahoma City, OK in October.  His other interests include stamp and coin collecting.