In 40 years of officiating, Gary Kessel has refereed 16 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, including 12 finals, and eight NCAA Division III Championships, including eight finals. He has officiated 21 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships and 18 Virginia Duals while also refereeing nine National Duals and four National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star matches. Kessel has also refereed 39 New Jersey state high school wrestling championships, including 11 finals, and has officiated 15 national high school tournaments.

Beginning his love affair with wrestling in the eighth grade, Kessel wrestled at East Stroudsburg University and served as an assistant coach following graduation.

Since 2010, he has served as president of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Officials Association, the oldest and largest wrestling organization in the country, and has worked as a rules interpreter for the state of New Jersey and the Eastern Wrestling League. He serves as the secretary/treasurer for the National Wrestling Officials Association and also chairs the organization’s education committee while also serving on the executive board of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He was honored as the New Jersey Official of the Year in 2007 and received the Richard Mirshak award for dedication, service and contributions to wrestling in 2015. He received the Vincent Russo Golden Whistle award in 2016 and was presented the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017. Kessel was inducted into the East Stroudsburg University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995, and is also a member of the Hopatcong, New Jersey, High School Hall of Fame.

For his long commitment and outstanding service to the sport of wrestling as a competitor, coach and referee, Gary Kessel is honored as the 2018 Meritorious Official by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.