INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2018 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.
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For falls and tech falls to be counted they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time.
This week’s Most Dominant Wrestler award standings requires a 16-match minimum in the division to qualify.
Last year’s winner, Zain Retherford of Penn State, has put himself in a strong position to repeat by scoring an average of 5.55 team points per match, which leads all divisions. Penn State is in good position to bring home the trophy, regardless, as Retherford leads four Nittany Lions in the top five.
Pittsburgh-Johnstown 157-pounder Cody Law leads Division II with 4.65 team points per match, while his 141-pound teammate Chris Eddins is third (4.22), bracketing Nebraska-Kearney heavyweight Jarrod Hinrichs with 4.43 points.
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Ithaca 184-pounder Jake Ashcraft has moved into the lead in Division III with 5.20 points, ahead of Mike Ross of Wartburg with 5.13 points.
The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results 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)
Hofstra heavyweight Mike Hughes has ascended to the Division I lead with 15 falls, holding the aggregate time tiebreaker by 12 minutes over Jason Nolf of Penn State and 17 minutes over Retherford.
In Division II, Central Oklahoma 165-pounder Mason Thompson increased his hold on the lead with his 14 falls, which is three more than Tiffin 184-pounder Hayden Bronne and Hinrichs.
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Wesleyan (Connecticut) teammates Devon Carrillo and Isaiah Bellamy are tied with 18 falls in Division III. Carrillo, at 197 pounds, holds the aggregate time tiebreaker by more than seven minutes over his heavyweight teammate.
Cam Sykora of North Dakota State and Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven lead Division I with 10 tech falls as aggregate time breaks the tie again by 1:19 (42:19 – 43:38), while Jamel Morris of NC State and Myles Martin of Ohio State each have nine.
Nick Vandermeer of Lake Erie has reclaimed sole possession of the tech fall lead in Division II with eight.
Messiah 197-pounder Kyle Koser has 15 tech falls in 62:21 to lead Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island) 133-pounder Jay Albis with 15 tech falls in 68:35. No other wrestler in Division III has more than 12 tech falls.
