INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships.
The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons.
Division I did not compete last week in preparations for this weekend’s conference tournaments, but regional competition took place in Divisions II and III as wrestlers competed to qualify for the national championships.
POLL: Check out the latest NWCA rankings
Greg Hilliard of Belmont Abbey earned the fall in all three of his matches to win the 165-pound championship at NCAA Division II Super Regional II and take the lead in the race for most dominant with 4.74 team points per match. Heavyweight Jared Campbell of Notre Dame (Ohio) won his own regional championship and moved to second with 4.70 points, while regional champion Chris Eddins, Jr., of Pittsburgh-Johnstown is third with 4.64.
Division III Most Dominant Wrestler is led by Troy Stanich of Stevens who won the 141-pound championship at the Southeast regional with a fall in the title match to move his average to 5.35 points. Bradan Birt of Millikin had two falls and two tech falls to win the 165-pound championship at the lower Midwest regional and is in second with 5.18 points, while Brett Kaliner of Stevens is third with 5.13 points after winning the 149-pound crown at the Southeast regional.
The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of team points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled with a minimum of 17 matches to be ranked. Points per match are awarded as follows.
- Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss)
- Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss)
- Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss)
- Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss)
Only Division II and Division III stat leaders are provided below because Division I didn't compete last week.
NCAA Stat Leaders - Most Dominant
Division II
| Rank | Name | School | Weight | Avg. Team Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Hilliard | Belmont Abbey | 165 | 4.74 |
| 2 | Jared Campbell | Notre Dame (OH) | 285 | 4.70 |
| 3 | Chris Eddins Jr. | Pitt.-Johnstown | 149 | 4.64 |
| 4 | Ryan Vasbinder | McKendree | 197 | 4.54 |
| 5 | Kolton Eischens | St. Cloud St. | 174 | 4.42 |
| 6 | Heath Gray | Central Okla. | 184 | 4.19 |
| 7 | Hunter Bray | Notre Dame (OH) | 133 | 4.06 |
| 8 | Nick Foster | McKendree | 165 | 4.04 |
| 9 | Hayden Bronne | Tiffin | 174 | 3.97 |
| 10 | Trey Grine | Tiffin | 157 | 3.90 |
Division III
| Rank | Name | School | Weight | Avg. Team Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troy Stanich | Stevens | 141 | 5.35 |
| 2 | Bradan Birt | Millikin | 165 | 5.18 |
| 3 | Brett Kaliner | Stevens | 149 | 5.13 |
| 4 | Kyle Hatch | Wabash | 165 | 4.91 |
| 5 | Tanner Vassar | Augsburg | 184 | 4.91 |
| 6 | Robert Areyano | Central (IA) | 149 | 4.81 |
| 7 | Guy Patron | Loras | 197 | 4.79 |
| 8 | Aaron Wilson | Augsburg | 149 | 4.78 |
| 9 | Dylan Roth | Heidelberg | 184 | 4.70 |
| 10 | Patrick Irwin | Coast Guard | 285 | 4.68 |
Seventeen-match minimum in division required to be ranked.
Hayden Bronne of Tiffin had two falls in NCAA Super Regional III and will take his 20 falls to the national championships in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with an insurmountable lead of six over AJ Cooper of Fort Hays State and seven over Tyler Lawley of Newman.
Evan Fidelibus of New England College punched his ticket to the national championships with a runner-up finish at 149 pounds and pair of falls in the Northeast regional to reach 23 on the season and within one of leader Marvin Cunningham of JWU (Providence), who did not qualify. Cunningham’s teammate Michael DiNardo won the heavyweight championship at the same regional with falls in all four of his matches and will also head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with 23 falls.
McKendree 197-pounder Ryan Vasbinder had one tech fall while winning the NCAA Division II Super Regional IV and enters the national championships with 10 on the season, three more than a quartet of wrestlers with seven.
Ahken Chu of SUNY Oneonta had two tech falls at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional and finishes his season with 16 tech falls, however he did not qualify for nationals and will not have a chance to add to his total. Stephen Maloney of Messiah finished third at the Southeast regional to punch his ticket and with 15 tech falls is in position to perhaps surpass Chu and claim the award at the national championships.
For falls and tech falls to be counted for the awards they must come against opponents in the same division (i.e. Division II vs. Division II). Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time.
NCAA Stat Leaders – Falls
Division II
| Rank | Name | School | Weight | Falls | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hayden Bronne | Tiffin | 174 | 20 | 35:56 |
| 2 | AJ Cooper | Fort Hays St. | 285 | 14 | 49:19 |
| 3 | Tyler Lawley | Newman | 133 | 13 | 33:59 |
| 4 | Greg Hilliard | Belmont Abbey | 165 | 12 | 24:06 |
| 5 | Gage Branson | Bellarmine | 141 | 12 | 30:59 |
| 6 | Luke McGonigal | Mercyhurst | 197 | 11 | 22:34 |
| 7 | Nicholas Mason | Tiffin | 197 | 11 | 28:21 |
| 8 | Elijah Mahan | Lindenwood (MO) | 184 | 11 | 30:32 |
| 9 | Jared Campbell | Notre Dame (OH) | 285 | 10 | 18:38 |
| 10 | Eric Beck | Bellarmine | 165 | 10 | 31:07 |
Division III
| Rank | Name | School | Weight | Falls | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marvin Cunningham | JWU (Providence) | 149 | 24 | 61:55 |
| 2 | Evan Fidelibus | New England Col. | 149 | 23 | 29:31 |
| 3 | Michael DiNardo | JWU (Providence) | 285 | 23 | 54:17 |
| 4 | Kaidon Winters | RIT | 157 | 22 | 51:21 |
| 5 | Joseph Rossetti | Williams | 141 | 21 | 46:10 |
| 6 | Joe Salerno | Wash. & Lee | 149 | 20 | 30:07 |
| 7 | Bradan Birt | Millikin | 165 | 19 | 35:44 |
| 8 | Evan Lawrence | Wis.-Eau Claire | 174 | 19 | 37:50 |
| 9 | Jarit Shinhoster | Wis.-Whitewater | 174 | 18 | 44:04 |
| 10 | Hayden Brown | JWU (Providence) | 133 | 17 | 37:08 |
NCAA Stat Leaders – Tech Falls
Division II
| Rank | Name | School | Weight | Tech Falls | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Vasbinder | McKendree | 197 | 10 | 47:54 |
| 2 | Anthony Mancini | Neb.-Kearney | 184 | 7 | 33:08 |
| 3 | Dawson Combest | UIndy | 157 | 7 | 35:47 |
| 4 | Carlos Jacquez | Lindenwood (MO) | 125 | 7 | 41:14 |
| 5 | Michael Raccioppi | East Stroudsburg | 174 | 7 | 41:18 |
| 6 | Josh Portillo | Neb.-Kearney | 125 | 6 | 22:07 |
| 7 | Logan Grass | Merychurst | 165 | 6 | 24:58 |
| 8 | Aryus Jones | Fort Hays St. | 184 | 6 | 26:09 |
| 9 | Richard Screptock | Tiffin | 184 | 6 | 33:56 |
| 10 | Daniel Bishop | Augustana (SD) | 197 | 5 | 17:11 |
Division III
| Rank | Name | School | Weight | Tech Falls | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ahken Chu | SUNY Oneonta | 141 | 16 | 63:16 |
| 2 | Tyler Gazaway | Roger Williams | 149 | 15 | 55:38 |
| 3 | Stephen Maloney | Messiah | 157 | 15 | 59:48 |
| 4 | Noah Nieman | Adrian | 149 | 11 | 52:46 |
| 5 | Freddy Terranova | Augustana (IL) | 149 | 10 | 38:14 |
| 6 | Ben Dougherty | RIT | 174 | 10 | 39:50 |
| 7 | Gabriel McDaniel | JWU (Providence) | 157 | 10 | 41:30 |
| 8 | Josiah Gehr | Messiah | 133 | 9 | 42:29 |
| 9 | Travis Jones | Ithaca | 133 | 9 | 45:38 |
| 10 | Jared Kuhns | York (PA) | 125 | 9 | 46:11 |
