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Honoring Athletes, Coaches and Benefactors whose outstanding performance has earned them the right to be enshrined in the
Sussex County Sports Hall of Fame!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sussex County Sports Hall of Fame

 2007 Inductee

CRAIG BLACKMAN

 

  

Graduated Sparta High School 1977; graduated Franklin & Marshall College 1981 and Penn State University 1989; inducted for his accomplishments in wrestling

A four year starter in high school with over sixty-five victories, he won the 1977 NJSIAA State Championship at 188 pounds; he was only the third wrestler in the history of Sparta High School to attain such an honor

He was a two time NJ State Freestyle Champion and, as a member of the NJ team, toured Turkey in 1976; he advanced to the National AAU Elite Freestyle Wrestling Championships in 1977 and won the gold medal in the 220 pound weight class and the silver medal in the Greco-Roman division; touring Iran with the National Team, he finished with a 4-0 record; in college, he placed sixth in the 1979 Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships at 198 pounds

In college, he amassed 117 victories and currently holds the school record for career victories; he was a three-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association place winner and gained the 190 pound crown in 1981, one of only seven F&M wrestlers to do so; participating in his third NCAA Division I Tournament, he placed fifth, upsetting many highly touted wrestlers along the way; he was voted the most underrated wrestler in the United States by the Amateur Wrestling News for his exploits; he was inducted into the Franklin and Marshall Sports Hall of Fame in 1989

Assisting George McGuire at Sparta High School, the Spartans beat Delaware Valley for the Group II Dual Meet Championship in 1983; he was a graduate assistant for the nationally ranked Penn State Nittany Lions from 1983-1985; he took over the wrestling program at Indian River High School in Chesapeake, VA in 1987 and compiled a record of 48-21 and finished fifth in the 1991 state meet; he coached three collegiate style state champions and two freestyle state champions while at Indian River
 

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