INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA has updated the standings for the 2015 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 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)
This week a minimum of 14 matches are required to be eligible for the Most Dominant Wrestler standings. That required match total will increase by one per week until 18 matches is reached.
In Division I, a trio of 2014 national champions leads the field as three-time champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State has the most points per match (5.1) at 141 pounds. North Carolina State heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski has moved past Oklahoma State 165-pounder Alex Dieringer into second place with 4.63 points, just .01 more per match than the Cowboy.
A new leader sits at the top of the table in Division II with James Martinez of Colorado Mesa averaging 4.88 points per match at 157 pounds.
Rhode Island College heavyweight Terrance Jean-Jacques maintains his advantage in Division III with an average of 5.42 points per match. Wabash 184-pounder Riley Lefever follows with 5.4 points and A.J. Kowal of Stevens Institute of Technology is third with 5.38 points.
Bucknell heavyweight Joe Stolfi maintains a three-fall lead in Division I with 18 this season, while last year’s award winner, Taylor Walsh of Indiana, has 15 at 157 pounds.
The Division II standings have Lake Erie’s 197-pounder Evan Rosborough in front by three falls with 13 after adding two falls since last week.
Division III is the tightest race in NCAA wrestling as Ohio Northern heavyweight Cody Lovejoy has 21 falls and SUNY Oneonta heavyweight James Bethel has notched 20 of his own. Two more wrestlers are on their heels with 19 falls each.
Illinois 157-pounder Isaiah Martinez is alone in first place in Division I with nine tech falls. The competition is close as two more wrestlers have each earned eight tech falls.
Division II leader Francis Mizia of Mercyhurst (157 pounds) saw his lead decrease to three as he holds steady with eight tech falls.
Nathaniel Giorgio from Coast Guard leads all wrestlers this season with 12 tech falls at 133 pounds in Division III. Michael Polizzi of Stevens is right behind with 11 tech falls at 157 pounds.
NCAA Wrestling Awards Standings – February 18, 2015
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