Fountain Valley’s Brad Woodbury, Dennis Piramo inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame
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Fountain Valley’s wrestling program has commanded the respect of those in the sport for some time now, hosting a top-tier regular-season tournament, section championships, and now regularly producing state qualifiers.
Brad Woodbury and Dennis Piramo, the co-coaches of the Barons, were honored for their body of work on Aug. 16, when they were inducted together into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Shuffling his feet behind the podium before a packed ballroom at the Laguna Hills Community Center, site of the Hall of Fame’s California chapter honors banquet, Woodbury might have been looking to pick out his next sparring partner during his acceptance speech.
“Fountain Valley wrestling has always had a strong tradition, and it has always been my goal to keep that program strong and successful,” said Woodbury, who has headed the program since 2001. “In order to do that, you need a team, or an army of people moving in the same direction.”
Woodbury preceded Piramo in making remarks, which gave him time to pay tribute to the success that the two have accomplished together.
Since Piramo’s arrival on staff in 2010, the Barons have won each successive league championship for which they have competed. Fountain Valley has won four consecutive CIF Southern Section individual wrestling championships titles (seven overall since 2015), as well as a CIF Duals crown.
“He has contributed 100% to Fountain Valley’s success,” Woodbury said of Piramo. “Could not have done it without you.”
Among those in the room were the McDonnell family, including brothers TJ, the program’s first state champion — at 182 pounds — in 2023, Khale, a state runner-up at 215 pounds in 2025, and Mason, who qualified for the state meet as a freshman.
Andrew Morgan, who placed third at state as a senior at Fountain Valley and was named a National Wrestling Coaches Assn. First-Team All-American at Campbell University, was among the prominent alumni coached by both Piramo and Woodbury at the ceremony.
“A bunch of Fountain Valley future Hall of Famers [are] in the house right now,” Piramo said. “I’m blessed to be a part of your journey. I’ve told you that each individually, as you were going through competition when you were kids, but I am just lucky to be a part of a small bit of what you’ve done successfully. To watch you guys grow into young adults and do what you do — pretty amazing. It makes all this worth it.”
Looking back on an experience early in his coaching career, Piramo said he was left feeling that he didn’t give “enough of himself.” Coaching then became an obsession, he said.
“When you’re coaching, it’s not about you anymore,” Piramo said. “It’s about the others that you bring around. It’s about developing kids. It’s about bringing a team together and winning — one common goal. That’s what I try to get better at, and through the years, I think I have done that, and it’s been one of my famous callings — coaching — so I stand before you blessed.”
Joining the dynamic coaching duo from Fountain Valley among the inductees were Arsen Aleksanyan, Lyndon Campbell, Scott Craft, Steve Glassey, Natalie Hayes, Danny Kida, Harlan Kistler, Andy Sepulveda and Bruce Terry.
