Utica High School Prinicpal Inducted into SUNY Oswego Athletic Hall of Fame

Mark Bowman Excelled in Wrestling As Student-Athlete

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OSWEGO, NY (11/14/2012)(readMedia)-- Mark Bowman, a Ohioan and 1983 graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego, was honored for his achievements in wrestling by being inducted into the Oswego Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 27 in the Sheldon Hall Ballroom on the SUNY Oswego campus.

Bowman was a three-time qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship and a four-time SUNY Championship place winner from 1979 to 1983. In 1980, he became what is believed to be the first Oswego State freshman to receive All-America recognition in any sport while wrestling at 142 pounds. Three years later, Bowman closed out his career with a runner-up finish at the 1983 Division III Championship in the 158-pound weight class.

"I specifically came up to be coached by Jim Howard," Bowman said, referring to the Oswego wrestling coach emeritus. "In my 25 years of coaching, I had a lot of great (athletes). They were coached under a lot of the structures that he taught me."

Bowman continued to be involved with education and wrestling after graduation. He has served as a high school coach for more than 25 years, resulting in multiple Ohio Capital Conference team championships, multiple state champions, and a citation from the Ohio House of Representatives for community service.

Bowman is currently the principal at Utica High School, which has garnered an excellent rating from the Ohio State Board of Education.

A 151-year-old comprehensive college, SUNY Oswego enrolls about 8,000 students in its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; School of Business; School of Communication, Media and the Arts; and School of Education. U.S. News Media Group counts SUNY Oswego among the top public regional universities in the North for 2013, and the Princeton Review includes Oswego in its 2013 college guidebook "The Best Northeastern Colleges," as well as its 2013 list of "best value" colleges and universities nationally.

PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Bowman, right, accepts his Oswego State Athletic Hall of Fame plaque from wrestling Coach Emeritus Jim Howard Oct. 27. A 1983 graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego, Bowman was a champion wrestler for the college.

PHOTO CAPTION: JIM RUSSELL/SUNY OSWEGO

(Contact: Shane M. Liebler, SUNY Oswego Alumni Association, 315-312-3120, shane.liebler@oswego.edu)