Division II and III regionals set award standings for nationals

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.

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 17-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 increasing his average to 5.57 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.

Nick Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside has taken a big lead in Division II after a strong regional performance with an average of 4.95 points at 174 pounds. Pittsburgh-Johnstown 157-pounder Cody Law is second with 4.52 team points per match.

Ithaca 184-pounder Jake Ashcraft maintains his lead in Division III with 5.32 points, .12 ahead of Wartburg 165-pounder Mike Ross with 5.20 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 maintains his hold on the Division I lead with 17 falls, which is one more than Retherford and two more than Penn State’s Jason Nolf.

In Division II, Tiffin 184-pounder Hayden Bronne has ascended to the lead with 15 falls, while Lawrence Phillips of St. Cloud State and Mason Thompson of Central Oklahoma each have 14.

Division III features three wrestlers with 21 falls, led by Wesleyan (Connecticut) 197-pounder Devon Carrillo with an aggregate time of 33:19, while heavyweights Jake Evans (Waynesburg) and Isaiah Bellamy (Wesleyan (Connecticut)) are more than 10 minutes behind.

Kyle Shoop has staked his claim to the award for technical falls in Division I with 12 at 141 pounds for Lock Haven, two more than NC State’s Jamel Morris and North Dakota State’s Cam Sykora.

Nick Vandermeer of Lake Erie and Connor Craig of Wheeling Jesuit each have nine tech falls in Division II. Vandermeer has increased his significant lead in aggregate time to more than 18 minutes.

Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island) 125-pounder Jay Albis has taken sole possession of first place in Division III tech falls with 16, while Messiah’s Kyle Koser has 15 followed by Millikin’s Bradan Birt and Messiah’s Ben Swarr with 14.

*17-match minimum in division required to be ranked.