Hodge Trophy winner to be announced March 28

March 20, 2013

NEWTON, Iowa — WIN magazine, a co-sponsor of the Dan Hodge Trophy with Culture House and presented by ASICS, announced today that the winner of this year’s prestigious award will be announced on Thursday, March 28, 2013.

Following the end of the 2013 NCAA Nationals, which will be held March 21-13, a voting committee made up of national media members and past Hodge Trophy winners, will vote on this year’s most dominant wrestler.

The Dan Hodge Trophy, which was created by WIN founder Mike Chapman, is named after the legendary Oklahoma University wrestler Dan Hodge, a three-time national champion (1955-57) who never allowed a takedown in his college career. He also pinned 36 of his 46 victims. Criteria for the award include a wrestler’s record, number of pins, dominance on the mat, past credentials, quality of competition, sportsmanship/citizenship and heart.

Entering the 2013 NCAA Championships, there are eight wrestlers who are undefeated and considered finalists to win this year’s award. Their records include matches from the NWCA All-Star Classic, which was held in Washington, DC, on Nov. 3, 2012.

By weight class, they include:

125 — Alan Waters (Missouri), 29-0, 7 pins

133 — Logan Stieber (Ohio State),  22-0, 12 pins

141 — Kendric Maple  (Oklahoma),  25-0, 6 pins

141 — Hunter Stieber  (Ohio State), 31-0, 4 pins

149 — Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State), 33-0, 17 pins

165 — Kyle Dake  (Cornell), 32-0, 18 pins

184 — Ed Ruth  (Penn State), 28-0, 10 pins

184 — Ben Bennett  (Central Michigan). 27-0, 4 pins

197 — Dustin Kilgore  (Kent State), 39-0, 18 pins

Past winners include:

Year             Name                        School

1995             T.J. Jaworsky                        North Carolina

1996            Les Gutches                        Oregon State

1997            Kerry McCoy                        Penn State

1998            Mark Ironside                        Iowa

1999            Stephen Neal                        Cal State Bakersfield

2000             Cael Sanderson                        Iowa State

2001              Cael Sanderson                        Iowa State

2001             Nick Ackerman                        Simpson College

2002            Cael Sanderson                        Iowa State

2003            Eric Larkin                        Arizona State

2004             Emmett Willson                        Mont. St.-Northern

2005            Steve Mocco                        Oklahoma State

2006              Ben Askren                        Missouri

2007             Ben Askren                        Missouri

2008              Brent Metcalf                        Iowa

2009             Jake Herbert                        Northwestern

2010               Jayson Ness                        Minnesota

2011               Jordan Burroughs               Nebraska

2012                David Taylor                 Penn State