INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has updated the standings for the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, Division II and Division III Wrestling Championships. This week’s update only reflects changes in the Division I standings, as no matches were contested in the other two divisions before those championship events commenced on March 13.
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 tech falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons.
For falls and tech falls to be counted towards a student-athlete's total they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time.
The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results against opponents in the same division and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. 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)
This week the standings reflect the minimum of 18 matches that are required to be eligible to win the Most Dominant Wrestler award.
Three-time national champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State has the most points per match (5.0) at 141 pounds in Division I. North Carolina State heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski is in second with 4.64 points, while Oklahoma State 165-pounder Alex Dieringer is third with 4.6 points.
Bucknell heavyweight Joe Stolfi maintains a two-fall lead in Division I with 19 this season, while last year’s award winner, Taylor Walsh of Indiana, has 17 at 157 pounds.
Illinois 157-pounder Isaiah Martinez is alone in first place in Division I with 10 tech falls. The competition is close as two more wrestlers have each earned eight tech falls.
