The Georgia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2026 on Saturday, May 2 at the Ramsey Conference Center on the campus of Lanier Technical College in Gainesville, Georgia.

Eight individuals will be inducted as part of the class of 2026. Six will be inducted as "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" recipients in recognition of contributing at least 20 years to the sport of wrestling as a coach, referee or contributor. One individual will be inducted as Medal of Courage recipient and one person will be inducted as an Outstanding American.

The Georgia inductees are:

Joey Di Nino (McDonough, GA) - A past GHSA state champion and collegiate team captain at Chowan (NC) Community College, this longtime south metro coach has built elite programs at Union Grove and Ola over his 29-year career, capturing the state championship at Ola in 2024.  Coached 30 individual state champions and 130 state placers. He has been selected twice as Georgia’s Coach-of-the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

John Hanrahan (Milton, GA) - Former 2X All-American at Penn State, Eastern Wrestling League Hall of Famer, and UWW Veteran World Champion has served as a graduate assistant at PSU, head coach at Fordham University and assistant coach at American University.  Currently in his 15th year as coach at Mill Springs Academy, he has directed youth club programs at Milton and Alpharetta’s Cooler.  Authored book/DVD series linking ancient wrestling techniques to modern moves.  

Keith Johnson (Decatur, GA) - Collegiate standout at Virginia State University, he has served Dekalb County wrestling for 31 years with stints at Columbia, Clarkston and Southwest DeKalb high schools.  Currently serving as Dekalb’s coordinator for high school and middle school wrestling, he authored “The Blindside Champ”, chronicling how wrestling helped in overcoming adversities in his personal life.

Doug Oertley (Gainesville, GA) - One of Georgia’s most outstanding mat officials, he has called 40 GHSA individual or dual meet state championship series tourneys, often serving as the head official, over his 32-year career.  He is a regular at some of the country’s prestigious tournaments, including the Super 32 and NHSCA Nationals and officiates at the collegiate level with the Southern Officials Association.  Serves as an outstanding trainer and mentor to new and veteran officials. 

Josh Stephen (Sugar Hill, GA) - Former Tri-Cities GHSA state champ and runner-up has had highly successful coaching stints at McIntosh, under HOF coach Marty Hutsell, Milton, Harrison, Collins Hill and, currently in his 10th year, South Forsyth HS.  He has helped coach teams to 8 GHSA state championships and nearly 40 individuals to state championships and over 100 to state place finishes. Coached Team Georgia Schoolboy, Cadet or Junior teams for 15 years in the “off-season”.

Shawn Watson (Tifton, GA) - 1988 GHSA champion at Henry County HS would go on to a standout career on the mats for Gardner-Webb University.  Put the Henry County program on the map during his four years as head coach (1997-2001) before moving on to Tift County High School, where he built that south Georgia program into one of the best in the state.  With a career coaching record of 506-275-1, he coached numerous teams and individuals to Region championships and state success.

David Payton (Woodstock, GA) - Medal of Courage - A three-time state placer and member of McEachern High School’s 1998 state championship team, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduating from McEachern in 2001.  Deployed to Japan, Haiti, Republic of Georgia and Iraq, it was on Iraqi Election Day in 2005 that his compound has hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and the toxic chemicals caused severe burns to his eyes, lungs, airways and body. Declared legally blind as the result of the incident, he medically retired from the USMC in 2010 at the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt).

Bryan Flint (Decatur, GA) - Outstanding American – Successful on the mats and in the business world as owner of Arrowhead Commercial Realtors, this two-time Southern Conference champion for the UTC Mocs has been steadfast in giving back to the wrestling and local communities.  A large benefactor to the UTC program, he serves on several boards, including the Bobby Dodd Coach-of-the -Year Foundation, all while serving for 17 years as an assistant coach at several north Atlanta area schools.