INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA handed out the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Awards at the respective Division I, Division II and Division III Wrestling Championships this month. The student-athletes who won the awards represented nine different institutions.
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-athletes 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)
A minimum of 18 matches are required to be eligible to win the Most Dominant Wrestler award.
Ohio State 141-pounder Logan Stieber wrapped up the 2015 Division I Most Dominant award by becoming only the fourth wrestler in Division I history to win four national championships as he led the Buckeyes to their first team national title at Scottrade Center in St. Louis last week. The senior finished the year with an average of 4.93 points per match. The next four positions in the final standings are held by 2015 national champions, including repeat winners Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State (165 pounds) and Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State (heavyweight) in second and third.
In Division II, heavyweight Ziad Haddad of Kutztown won his second national championship to take the Most Dominant title averaging 4.62 points.
Wabash 184-pounder Riley Lefever capped off a national championship season to finish the season with 5.22 points per match to win the Division III Most Dominant Wrestler award in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Bucknell heavyweight Joe Stolfi opened the Division I championships with a first round fall for his 20th of the season to claim the title for most falls. National finalist Taylor Walsh of Indiana (165 pounds) took second with 17 falls.
Evan Rosborough added one fall at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis at 197 pounds to finish with 17 for Lake Erie and win the Division II award for most falls, which was five more than his nearest competitor.
Heavyweight Cody Lovejoy of Ohio Northern led all divisions with 24 falls as he claimed the title in Division III over James Bethel of SUNY Oneonta (285 pounds) with 23 falls.
Illinois 157-pounder Isaiah Martinez started his run to a national championship with a first round tech fall for his 11th of the season, which was enough to claim the Division I award for most tech falls.
In Division II, Mercyhurst 157-pounder Francis Mizia led the country in tech falls with eight on the season as he claimed All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in St. Louis.
The Division III winner led the country with 13 tech falls as Coast Guard 133-pounder Nathaniel Giorgio took the honor. He earned his 13th of the season on the way to All-American honors in Hershey, Pennyslvania, to finish one ahead of Michael Polizzi of Stevens (157 pounds).
