NCAA debuts wrestling awards standings for 2018

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has released the debut set of 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.

MORE: Penn State remains No. 1 in latest rankings

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.

NCAA champions Jason Nolf and Zain Retherford of Penn State lead Division I in falls with 12 and 11. Heavyweights Mike Hughes of Hofstra and Ben Darmstadt of Cornell have also reached double figures with 10 falls to start their campaigns.

In Division II, Central Oklahoma 165-pounder Mason Thompson is off to a fast start with 10 falls, which is three more than his next closest competitor.

Heavyweight Isaiah Bellamy of Wesleyan (Connecticut) and 184-pounder Isaac Odell of Wheaton (Illinois) are tied in Division III with 12 falls each at the top of the table. Bellamy holds the tiebreaker at this point with a 14-minute advantage in aggregate time over Odell (26:35 to 40:38). Gennaro Cerminara (Muhlenberg) and Hunter Harris (Messiah) have 11 falls to lead a trail group of seven additional wrestlers already in double digits.

Division I has an early three-way tie in the race for the most technical falls among Cam Sykora (North Dakota State), Chance Marstellar (Lock Haven) and former NCAA champion Myles Martin (Ohio State). Aggregate time breaks the tie with Sykora holding a six-minute lead over Marstellar in second, who is another six minutes ahead of Martin.

It’s a family affair atop the standings in Division II where brothers Nick and Nate Vandermeer lead the way. Nick Vandermeer is in first with six tech falls at 165 pounds for Lake Erie, while younger brother Nate has five at 174 pounds for Findlay.

Wartburg 149-pounder Cross Cannone leads Division III with 10 technical falls, while Messiah’s Kyle Koser has notched nine of his own to hold sole possession of second place.

The initial Most Dominant Wrestler standings will be released later this season to allow wrestlers to achieve the minimum amount of matches that is required to be eligible for the standings.

NCAA Stat Leaders - Falls
Division I
Rank	Name	School	Weight	Falls	Time
1	Jason Nolf	Penn St.	157	12	32:58
2	Zain Retherford	Penn St.	149	11	32:48
3	Mike Hughes	Hofstra	285	10	16:06
4	Ben Darmstadt	Cornell	285	10	17:50
5	Matt Stencel	Central Mich.	285	8	6:54
6	Bo Nickal	Penn St.	184	8	7:06
7	Shakur Rasheed	Penn St.	197	8	8:54
8	Jake Keating	Virginia	149	8	21:37
9	Taylor Venz	Nebraska	184	8	21:47
10	Bryce Meredith	Wyoming	141	7	11:15
Division II
Rank	Name	School	Weight	Falls	Time
1	Mason Thompson	Central Okla.	165	10	25:56
2	Nate Vandermeer	Findlay	174	7	21:03
3	Lawrence Phillips	St. Cloud St.	285	6	8:49
4	Jacob Robb	Mercyhurst	285	6	16:13
5	Justin Haneke	Southwest Minn. St.	157	6	16:18
6	Jarrod Hinrichs	Neb.-Kearney	285	6	27:01
7	Alex Rhine	Bellarmine	149	6	32:40
8	Greg Hilliard	Belmont Abbey	165	5	10:10
9	Jarred Oftedahl	St. Cloud St.	141	5	10:44
10	Phillip Springsteen	Mary	165	5	12:11
Division III
Rank	Name	School	Weight	Falls	Time
1	Isaiah Bellamy	Wesleyan (CT)	285	12	26:35
2	Isaac Odell	Wheaton (IL)	184	12	40:38
3	Gennaro Cerminara	Muhlenberg	197	11	19:06
4	Hunter Harris	Messiah	133	11	24:12
5	Audel Ochoa	North Central (IL)	285	10	14:56
6	Derek Beitz	Messiah	184	10	21:30
7	Lenny Ogozalek	Gettysburg	125	10	25:12
8	Kyle Hatch	Wabash	157	10	29:35
9	Zachary Rainess	Greensboro	141	10	33:01
10	Tyler Hammack	Heidelberg	285	9	27:07

NCAA Stat Leaders - Tech Falls
Division I
Rank	Name	School	Weight	Tech Falls	Time
1	Cam Sykora	North Dakota St.	133	7	26:22
2	Chance Marsteller	Lock Haven	165	7	32:41
3	Myles Martin	Ohio St.	184	7	38:57
4	Austin DeSanto	Drexel	133	6	18:47
5	Jamel Morris	NC St.	133	6	19:17
6	Ke-Shawn Hayes	Ohio St.	149	6	21:38
7	Noah Stewart	Army	184	6	23:30
8	Kyle Shoop	Lock Haven	141	6	29:43
9	Mason Smith	Central Mich.	141	6	33:52
10	Joseph Lavallee	Missouri	157	6	34:56
Division II
Rank	Name	School	Weight	Tech Falls	Time
1	Nick Vandermeer	Lake Erie	165	6	28:07
2	Nate Vandermeer	Findlay	174	5	21:08
3	Cody Law	Pitt.-Johnstown	157	5	26:39
4	Ryan Appleby	Kutztown	285	5	27:24
5	Connor Craig	Wheeling Jesuit	157	5	31:12
6	Nate Trepanier	Lindenwood (MO)	157	4	20:31
7	Trey Grine	Tiffin	149	4	23:02
8	George McGuire	Gannon	157	4	26:45
9	Carlos Jacquez	Lindenwood (MO)	125	3	10:35
10	Donald Negus	Colorado Mesa	174	3	12:37
Division III
Rank	Name	School	Weight	Tech Falls	Time
1	Cross Cannone	Wartburg	149	10	45:42
2	Kyle Koser	Messiah	197	9	44:18
3	Jimmy Davis	Loras	149	8	31:44
4	Kyle Fank	Wartburg	197	8	35:25
5	Stephen Maloney	Messiah	149	7	31:58
6	Trevor Corl	Lycoming	149	6	18:43
7	Bradan Birt	Millikin	149	6	24:35
8	Ben Swarr	Messiah	174	6	27:48
9	Kevin Edwards	Messiah	157	5	19:35
10	Austin Shorey	Southern Me.	141	5	20:19