Chris Tognoni was born in Reno, Nevada on February 8, 1966. He grew up in Gillette, Wyoming and graduated high school in 1984 from Campbell County High School.After a successful high school wrestling career, he traveled through Europe on a U.S. National Wrestling Team in the summer and fall of 1984 and continued wrestling at The University of Wyoming.
Chris began working on his college degree in January of 1985. After graduating from The University of Wyoming in 1990, he moved away from the snow and cold of Wyoming to Bullhead City, Arizona to begin his career as a Teacher, Coach, and Educational Administrator.
Chris spent twelve years at Mohave High School in Bullhead City, AZ where he taught weight training, Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education. He coached Wrestling, Football, Baseball, Softball, and Golf. In 1999, Chris earned his Master’s Degree in Educational Administration.
He spent his last four years at Mohave High School as the school’s Assistant Principal and Athletic Director. Chris has spent the last sixteen years in the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada where he has taught Elementary Physical Education, Physical Education, and Health at Summit View Youth Correctional Center and Physical Education and Health at Del Webb Middle School.
Chris has been proudly married to his wife and best friend Simone for the past twenty-one years and credits her with being his biggest fan and critic.
His family blessed with the birth of their son Xander in 2011. This addition to the family is, “the most amazing gift I have ever received.” Chris loves being outdoors and calls himself “a converted desert rat.” He loves hunting, fishing and playing golf.
Chris was an Athletic Inspector with the Nevada State Athletic Commission for eleven years from 2001-2012.
He also officiates high school wrestling and has been doing this for the past 23 years. Chris has been officiating mixed martial arts (MMA) since 1997 and Muay Thai and kickboxing since 2001 at both the amateur and professional levels.
Tognoni has had the pleasure to officiate successfully with some very high profile promotions all over the world and is very grateful for all of the opportunities that he has been given.
Chris enjoys teaching and helping younger/new officials become better through teaching classes/seminars or working with them directly at events.
“Officials can’t work forever and we will all have to pass the torch at some point so, if you haven’t done a good job of teaching/coaching other officials the things you’ve learned then that is not good for the sport.”
Tognoni attributes his successes in his life to the work ethics taught to him by his father while growing up. He always told me “if you work hard, good things will happen. That is the motto that I live by every day.”
