Wrestling awards roll toward finish

INDIANAPOLIS – The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards will be given out Saturday evening as part of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

The three awards, approved by the NCAA Wrestling Committee prior to the start of the 2012 season, will honor Division I’s 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.

The race to the finish line in the awards standings will be determined at the championships as all but two wrestlers in the top five of the current standings are listed among the field of competitors.

The Most Dominant Award standings has two wrestlers tied for the top spot heading into the championships as Penn State’s David Taylor (165 pounds) and Oklahoma State’s Jordan Oliver (133 pounds) are each listed with 5.00 points. The point total is calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Fellow Penn State wrestler Edward Ruth (174 pounds) sits just behind Taylor and Oliver in the standings with 4.77 points.

Not to be overlooked for the Most Dominant Award is American’s Ryan Flores. The heavyweight isn’t listed among the current standings because he is one match shy of the 18-match minimum required to earn a place in the standings. However, with 13 falls and one forfeit in 17 matches this season, his appearance at the NCAA Championships should put him in the thick of the awards race.

Holding a comfortable lead in the most falls standing is Roger Pena of Oregon State. The 157-pounder has 20 pins this season. Nebraska’s Donny Longendyke is second with 19 pins, but will not be in the championships field. Aaron Schopp of Edinboro (133 pounds) is third with 17 pins to date.

Mark Lewandowski of Buffalo (165 pounds) and Christopher Honeycutt of Edinboro (197 pounds) currently sit tied atop the most tech falls standing with 11 each. They are trailed by Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming (184 pounds), Daniel Kolodzik of Princeton (157 pounds) and Ethan Owens of Iowa (141 pounds), who have each recorded nine tech falls this season.