Hall of Fame wrestling coach Carl Snitkin
NORWICH, May 11 — Carl Snitkin, who began the wrestling program at Norwich Free Academy and coached there 25 years, passed away on Friday. He was 72.
Snitkin’s teams at NFA won 13 Eastern Connecticut Conference titles and nine Class LL state championships, including six straight from 1983-88, a state record at the time. When he retired in 1999, his 471 dual meet victories (471-80-7) were the most in state history.
Sixty-three of his wrestlers won a Class LL, State Open or New England championship. Snitkin began the NFA wrestling program in 1974. Snitkin was also a long-time assistant coach of the NFA track and field program, specializing in the throwing events.
Snitkin was in the charter class of the Connecticut chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002 and was also elected to the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame, the Norwich Sports Hall of Fame and the Connecticut Powerlifting Hall of Fame.
Carl graduated from Springfield College in 1972 where he was a four-time national collegiate powerlifting champion (1969-72). He was a member of the U.S. team that won the 1971 world championship.
He won a gold medal in the super heavyweight division at the 1976 Pan American Games and won back-to-back North American titles in 1981 and 1982. He won 10 New England championships.
We offer our condolences to his family and friends.
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