Takedown Report

College Wrestlers’ Awards

Lee named InterMat Wrestler of the Year
Spencer Lee — University of Iowa junior who was crowned 2020 Big Ten champion at 125 pounds (and named 2020 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year at the conference championships) — has been named the 2020 InterMat Wrestler of the Year, the amateur wrestling website announced Monday. Presented each year since 2006 to the best collegiate wrestler in all divisions, the award is based exclusively on the balloting of writers at InterMat. Each writer is asked to select five wrestlers and rank them from first to fifth. Point values are assigned to each placement, ranging from one point to a wrestler listed fifth on a voter’s ballot, up to nine points for a first-place vote. Spencer Lee received all ten first-place votes from InterMat writers, to garner a total of 90 points to run away with 2020 InterMat Wrestler of the Year honors. Lee just completed his third season wrestling for the Iowa Hawkeyes, where he tallied a perfect 18-0 record. As impressive as that statistic is, it doesn’t reveal all its dimensions behind it. Lee outscored his 18 opponents by a mind-blowing 234-18, putting an NCAA best 5.0 average team points in each match. He earned bonus points in all but two of his matches, racking up four pins (all in the first period) … nine technical falls (four of those in the first period)… and a team-high 58 dual points for the season. For all these accomplishments, Spencer Lee found himself ranked as the No. 1 wrestler in the 125-pound weight class the entire season. …. story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/23471?mc_cid=864912e0e4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

and Spencer Lee Wins Dan Hodge Trophy
IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa junior Spencer Lee has been named winner of the 2020 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, presented annually to the nation’s most dominant college wrestler. He earned 52 of a possible 57 first-place votes.
The award was announced Monday by Win Magazine publisher, Bryan Van Kley. “Winning the Hodge Trophy and being recognized by fans, past winners, and members of the media is certainly an honor,” Lee said. “The criteria behind the trophy is in line with the values of the Iowa Wrestling program, and I want to thank my teammates, coaches, and fans for their endless support. I also want to congratulate the other finalists. No one got the end they wanted, but this is still a season we should all be proud of.” …. story at https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2020/3/30/spencer-lee-wins-dan-hodge-trophy.aspx?mc_cid=864912e0e4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Detwiler Named NEWA Wrestler of the Year to Highlight Postseason Awards
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomore Paul Detwiler has been named the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Wrestler of the Year as the organization’s postseason awards were announced. Detwiler, the Bears 184 pounder, compiled a 28-0 record this season that included 18 bonus point victories. He also became only the second Coast Guard wrestler to win the All Academy Championship.  He won championships at the Doug Parker, Ted Reese, and Jim Aguilar tournaments, was the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the NEWA Dual championships, won the Northeast Region tournament, and was the #2 seed at the NCAA Championships.  The Marine and Environmental Science major sports a 3.74 GPA and was named to the Scholar All-American team. …. story at https://uscgasports.com/sports/wrest/2019-20/releases/20200330g57eb8?mc_cid=864912e0e4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

EIWA Awards: Glory named Wrestler of the Year; Slavikouski named Freshman of the Year
The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association named its major athlete award winners for the year over the weekend.
Patrick Glory Named the EIWA Wrestler of the Year
Patrick Glory of Princeton University has been named the 2019-20 EIWA Wrestler of the Year by the head wrestling coaches of the member institutions. Glory capped an undefeated season by winning the 125-pound weight class at the recent EIWA wrestling championships held at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It was the second straight title for the 2019 All-American. He is the first Princeton wrestler to receive this award, first presented in 1998. Glory won his first three bouts at EIWAs with bonus points before securing the title with a 3-0 shutout decision. …. story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/March/30/EIWA-Award-winners?mc_cid=864912e0e4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

WVU’s Adams Named Wrestler of the Year
West Virginia’s Noah Adams has been named the 2019-20 Big 12 Wrestler of the Year, as voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches. He is the first recipient of the award in Mountaineer history. Adams finished the 2019-20 campaign 32-0, marking the third time a West Virginia wrestler finished a season undefeated. He became the second person in program history to win a Big 12 title, earning a 5-1 decision in the finals to claim the 197-pound title. …. story at https://big12sports.com/news/2020/3/31/wrestling-wvus-adams-named-wrestler-of-the-year.aspx?mc_cid=2b0e4cf56d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

NWCA DIVISION III COACHES GROUP ANNOUNCES 2020 ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association has announced the 2020 Division III All-American teams.  Each year the NWCA recognizes the outstanding work of the DIII Student-athletes by naming the All-Americans based on their achievements in the national championship, however, this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic the championships were canceled. All-American honors were based on each wrestler’s overall body of work through the regional tournaments and up to the national championships.
First Team All-Americans
Second Team All-Americans
Third Team All-Americans
“These athletes deserve to be recognized for their outstanding body of work during the 2019-2020 season.  I’m proud of the NWCA Division III leadership group working so diligently to review the candidates and for developing a meaningful process for recognizing this elite group of young men. “ 
Lonnie Morris, NWCA Division III President & Johnson & Wales Head Coach …. story at http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-division-iii-coaches-group-announces-2020-all-america-teams/?mc_cid=9b0303e966&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Spencer Lee talks a lot about the Olympics and freestyle during his Hodge Trophy media conference
BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | APRIL 06, 2020, 
The big news in college wrestling last week was the announcement that Spencer Lee of Iowa was named the winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, the top award given in college men’s wrestling. In a media teleconference organized by the University of Iowa, Lee answered numerous questions about his undefeated junior senior, which was cut short by the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Div. I Championships in Minneapolis due to COVID-19. Lee was honest, informative and interesting during the teleconference, explaining his thoughts about what happened to both him and the top-ranked Hawkeye program, which both lost the opportunity to win the national title due to the virus. But throughout his press conference, either based upon a specific question or unsolicited, Lee also talked often about the Olympic Games and his freestyle wrestling career. As the reigning U.S. Senior Open champion at 57 kg and a three-time age-group World champion, Lee is a legitimate contender to make the U.S. Olympic Team. …. story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/April/06/Spencer-Lee-talks-Olympics-and-freestyle?mc_cid=91538a90c1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Bolen named VaSID Wrestler of the Year
Bolen, McFadden earn first-team all-state honors
FERRUM, Va. – After a stellar sophomore season, Virginia Tech wrestling’s Hunter Bolen was named the Virginia Wrestler of the Year, announced by the Virginia Sports Information Directors on Thursday.
Bolen had a breakout campaign in 2019-20 where he went 24-2 on the season, capped off with the 184-pound ACC Championship and being named the No. 2 seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships. The Floyd, Va. native ended the season ranked No. 1 in the country by InterMat.
This is the second VaSID honor for Bolen after he was named Rookie of the Year following the 2017-18 season. …. story at https://hokiesports.com/news/2020/4/9/wrestling-bolen-named-vasid-wrestler-of-the-year.aspx?mc_cid=e9d5e5bec8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

NWCA DIVISION II COACHES GROUP ANNOUNCES 2020 ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association has announced the 2020 Division II All-American teams.  Each year the NWCA recognizes the outstanding work of the DII Student-athletes by naming the All-Americans based on their achievements in the national championship, however, this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic the championships were canceled.  All-American honors were based on each wrestler’s overall body of work through the super-regional tournaments and up to the national championships. 
Division II All-Americans 
“With the cancellation of the national tournament the NWCA Division II leadership group thought it was still very appropriate to name All-Americans this year. The leadership group did a great job of weighing different options and polling the membership.  We are happy that we can make the most out of an incredibly unfortunate situation. Although this is not the same as having a national tournament, these individuals should be recognized for their amazing season results and super-regional tournaments. Congratulations to the 2020 All-Americans and National Qualifiers.
“Jason Warthan, NWCA Division II President & University of Indianapolis Head Coach  ….. story at http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-division-ii-coaches-group-announces-2020-all-america-teams/?mc_cid=e9d5e5bec8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

MAC Announces Academic All-MAC Wrestling Team With 49 Honorees
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced its 2020 Academic All-MAC Wrestling team today as 49 students were named to the team.  Highlighting the 2020 Academic All-MAC Wrestling Team is four-time Academic All-MAC selection graduate senior Tim Rooney of Kent State.  A native of Columbus, Ohio, Rooney is an exercise physiology major with a 3.813 GPA and was the MAC Champion at the 133-pound weight class on March 8 at the 2020 MAC Wrestling Championship.
Central Michigan’s Drew Hildebrandt and Dresden Simon are both three-time Academic All-MAC honorees.  Hildebrandt, a native of Granger, Ind., is a finance major with a 3.64 GPA and was the MAC Champion at the 125-pound weight class, while Simon, a native of Dansville, Mich., is a sport management major with a 3.50 GPA and was the MAC Champion at the 141-pound weight class and was named the MAC Tournament Outstanding Wrestler at the 2020 MAC Wrestling Championship on March 8. In addition, Ohio senior Zac Carson is also a three-time Academic All-MAC selection.  Carson previously earned the honors in 2017 and 2018 with Eastern Michigan.  There were also six two-time Academic All-MAC honors earned Derek Spann of Buffalo, Drew Marten and Landon Pelham of Central Michigan, Bryce West of NIU and Killian Cardinale and Shane Jones of Old Dominion.
Central Michigan led the way with six wrestlers …. story at https://getsomemaction.com/news/2020/4/8/mac-announces-academic-all-mac-wrestling-team-with-49-honorees.aspx?mc_cid=e9d5e5bec8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 15, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized