The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Burnett to enter National Hall of Fame
Four-time Oberlin state champ wrapped up 25 years as head coach at Elyria in 2022
Erik Burnett’s legacy on the mat as a wrestler and coach stretches miles in length.
Following his induction into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year, Burnett was notified July 9 he will be enshrined into the Ohio Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place Oct. 15 at Villa Milano in Columbus.
A four-time state champion at Oberlin who would go on to All-American status at Clarion before coaching three years at Amherst and another 25 more at Elyria High School as head coach until 2022, Burnett was humbled when speaking about this latest honor.
“It’s a lot of fun, man,” Burnett said. “To be in these hall of fames with all of these inductees with each having remarkable careers. It’s an honor, that’s for sure.”
The moment Burnett found out on July 9 was during a coaches meeting at Burnett’s home ahead of the upcoming wrestling season. His wife, Janet, longtime assistant coaches Jack Gillespie and Paul Felton, as well as former Elyria wrestler Armando Torres, who finished his first season as Burnett’s successor coaching the
Pioneers, were all present.
“Jack apparently knew about the induction, so he told Ray Anthony — who’s one of the head officials in Ohio and also on the Hall of Fame board — he told him about our coaches meeting at our house. Ray showed up at the house and gave us the news. It was pretty cool,” Burnett said with a laugh.
For the Lorain County and State of Ohio legend, he was stunned when Anthony informed him of his impending induction, not expecting to be bestowed with such an honor. Though for those who know Burnett best, his humble reaction would be expected.
“You don’t set out to do it, you just don’t expect things like that,” he said.
“You don’t start off in your career like, ‘Wow, I want to be in this hall of fame and that hall of fame,’ that’s not the objective. But, it’s such an incredible honor that I didn’t initially know what to do. You’re just kind of stunned and then you’re proud.”
Burnett went back to the
meeting at the house with his wife, Felton, Gillespie and Torres, and what became a regular meeting turned into a celebratory moment.
Said Burnett: “To just have those guys there and my wife standing there on the back patio with us, I showed her the certificate right away and said ‘Wow, look at this.’ To have all of those people there in that moment was really cool, really special.”