Curtis Sexton is recognized for his years of dedication to the development of leadership and citizenship in young people through the sport of wrestling.

During college summers, Curtis started a wrestling club at Barrington high school, and coached their first Illinois State freestyle champion and one runner-up. In 1971, he was named coach at Churchill high school in Eugene. In 1987, Churchill was the district champion and became the first valley team to defeat North Bend and Marshfield. During his tenure, his teams won 340 matches and were AAAAA dual match league champions twice.

As the case with many wrestling coaches, Curtis became an official for the USAW where he was ranked a category one international official and refereed in the championship finals of both the national freestyle and Greco Roman championships. He has served as head clinician at the Oregon freestyle wrestling camp. One of his finest students thanked him for helping his Greco style wrestling. The young man quit the Greco style after winning a national championship and then went on to win World an Olympic gold medals in freestyle. The young man was Dave Schultz.

For his dedication in lasting influence on wrestling, Curtis Sexton is presented the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s “Lifetime Service to Wrestling“ award for the class of 2008.