Michael Hogan is the quintessential wrestling coach, and it is the privilege of the Upstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame to bestow upon Mike the Lifetime Service Award and welcome him into our Hall of Fame. Mike wrestled at Peru High School under the guidance of Hall of Fame Coach, Stan Riggs, and was a multiple Section VII champion. In 1976, Mike was a NYSPHSAA place winner who was unfortunately in a weight class that featured the likes of Mike Picozzi and Caledonia-Mumford standout, Robin Parker. Mike went on to Tabor Academy in 1977 and captured a New England Prep School Championship and was chosen the Outstanding Wrestler in the Prep School Championships. Mike elected to continue his collegiate career at Hofstra University where he experienced an illustrious four years. Spanning his stay at Hofstra, he was a three-time East Coast Conference Champion and qualified for the NCAA Division I wrestling championships three times. During his freshmen year the Amateur Wrestling News positioned him on their first team Freshmen All-American Team - quite an accomplishment for a true "North Country" boy. In 1981 Mike captained The Pride and finished his college stay with a 105-30 record. In 1985 Mike commenced his high school coaching career at Saranac High School where he enjoyed a very successful stay. While at Saranac, he coached two teams that were ranked number one in the small school state poll for the 1994 and 1995 season. In 1998, he became and continues to be the head wrestling coach at Peru where he has attained a great deal of success. Oswego State University coach Mike Howard had this to say about Mike, "Throughout his career, Mike Hogan has advanced the sport of wrestling on and off the mat and is the embodiment of a perfect ambassador for the sport. Six of his former wrestlers have competed at Oswego and all of them entered the program with a solid foundation, the life skills to be successful, and were fully prepared to compete at the collegiate level. More importantly, they were all fine young men." Hogan's teams have won numerous Section VII championships and travel extensively to get the best caliber of wrestling located in the Empire state. He has coached 42 New York State Public High School Athletic Association place winners and has guided nine of his wrestlers to NYSPHSAA titles. Furthermore, in 2011 Arik Robinson, the Division II 112-pound champion, was named the Outstanding Wrestler for his division, and in 2015 Jordan Bushey wrestled a perfect NYSPHSAA toumament and was also named the Outstanding Wrestler. At the beginning of this year Hogan's high school record was 356-90-5, and it appears that this record will only grow with the years. In the off season, Mike has maintained a certified USA Wrestling Freestyle and Greco Club, schooling them with some of the best coaching and techniques available in the state. During the last 10 years Mike has had fifty-seven young men on the New York State Team that competed at the Cadet and Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota. One of the highlights of his coaching career has been to guide his two sons, Patrick and Colin. Each of the boys were Section VII champions and eventually became NYSPHSSA place winners. Patrick would graduate from Harvard University in 2016, where he was co-captain of the wrestling team and a four-year starter for the Crimson's wrestling team. Presently he is an analyst at Deutsche Bank in New York City. Colin is a freshman wrestling at American University in Washington DC. Mike also has a daughter, Anna who is a senior at Boston University. His wife, Julie is an elementary school guidance counselor and adjunct professor at the State University College at Plattsburgh. Mike credits her for being the heart of the family and this year Julie will sing the national anthem at the ceremony. Moreover, Mike is the co-owner and mechanical contractor for the J Hogan Refrigeration and Mechanical Company in Peru and makes it a practice to hire former wrestlers as his employees. The Upstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame salutes Mike Hogan and welcomes him into our Hall of Fame for his many accomplishments in the sport of wrestling.