By LAUREN DOLOWICH
Former Jericho High School athlete Cliff Forziat will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on April 25, 2014.
Forziat began high school in Syracuse but graduated from Jericho High School in 1966 and proceeded to attend Fordham University in Bronx, New York. Weighing in at 135 pounds, Forziat was later part of the school’s 1986 Championship Football Club Team. After college, he served his country as a captain in the Aerial Surveillance and was formally recognized by former Bird Colonel Colin Powell for his work. He then became a social studies teacher at Herricks High School. Forziat’s first foray into wrestling, however, began at Great Neck High School, where he started both coaching and officiating the sport. In 1977, Forziat took over the Herricks wrestling program and still serves as its coach to this day.
As the President and Section 8 Coordinator of the Coaches Association, Forziat has coached teams that have collectively accumulated 323 dual-meet victories, 70 all-county wrestlers, 80 qualifying champions, 12 county champions, four state qualifiers, and two state champions. Over the years, Forziat has been awarded the LIOWA Sportsmanship Award and the CWCA Service Award, as well as an induction into the Jericho High School Hall of Fame in 2013.
To honor his contributions, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame will induct Forziat on April 25 at the Melville Marriott in Melville, Long Island.
