Stanford's Shane Griffith named Amateur Wrestling News Rookie of Year, as 2020 AWN Rookie Team announced
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by Amateur Wrestling News/Stanford Athletics
Shane Griffith image courtesy of GoStanford.com
AMATEUR WRESTLING NEWS PRESS RELEASE
Two of the nation's top freshmen competed for the Stanford Cardinal this year in Shane Griffith, 165 and Real Woods, 141. They led their team to second place in the PAC 12 Championships and had a combined record of 47-1. Both were seeded No. 3 in their respective weight classes when NCAA brackets were released in March.
Unfortunately neither had the opportunity to wrestle and challenge for NCAA medals with the cancellation of the championships.
For his undefeated season, along with being named the Outstanding Wrestler in the PAC 12 tournament, Shane Griffith (28-0) has been named Rookie of the Year by Amateur Wrestling News.
“He is a tremendous student-athlete and an overall great example of someone that does the little things right,” said Stanford coach Jason Borrelli. “He is very disciplined, consistent, and has tremendous passion.”
Prior to Stanford, Griffith was a three-time state champion at Bergen Catholic in Oradell, NJ, the same school that produced NCAA champ Nick Suriano of Rutgers. Griffith reached the finals four times and was named Outstanding Wrestler as a freshman.
In his rookie season, Griffith won titles at the Roadrunner Open, the Southern Scuffle and later claimed his first PAC 12 title at 165 pounds. He defeated Arizona State All-American Josh Shields 3-0 in the finals. It was his second seasonal victory over the Sun Devil. Griffith also had season wins over nationally ranked wrestlers Tanner Skidgel, Navy, Ethan Smith, Ohio State, Travis Wittlake, Oklahoma State, Andrew Fogerty, North Dakota State and Kennedy Monday, North Carolina.
“It is very hard to position yourself as a legitimate national title contender at any point in your career and Shane did it as a freshman,” said coach Borrelli. “He was primed to bring home just the second individual national title in program history and I had full confidence that he was going to get the job done in Minnesota.
“I am very proud of him and happy that he is being recognized with these honors. Our program is in great shape moving forward with Shane as one of our leaders.”
Griffith also excels in freestyle. He won the gold medal at 79 kg at the 2019 Junior Pan American Championships in Guatemala City and earned a runner-up finish at the 2019 Junior World Team Trials in Raleigh, N.C. He was also a two-time National Junior runner-up in Fargo, N.D.
AMATEUR WRESTLING NEWS’ 2019-20 ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
The staff at Amateur Wrestling News has always counted on NCAA Tournament results to help sort Rookie of the Year honors. This time was obviously a bit more challenging with the NCAA Tournament’s cancellation.
Stanford’s Shane Griffith was our choice for Rookie of the Year. He was the only freshman to finish the season undefeated, going 28-0. In the process, he won the Southern Scuffle and the Pac 12 Conference Tournament. His record included two wins over All American Josh Shields/Arizona State. He was seeded No. 3 at the NCAAs, and was in the same bracket half with Penn State’s Vincenzo Joseph. What an incredible semifinal bout theirs would have been.
Rookie national champions have become common in Division I wrestling. In 2014, Jason Tsirtsis and J’den Cox won titles. Cox was just the 14th true freshman ever to accomplish this. The following year, it was rookies Nathan Tomasello and Isaiah Martinez, although both were redshirts. In 2016, Myles Martin, a true freshman, defeated redshirt freshman Bo Nickal for the title. Three years ago, Mark Hall, another true freshman, became champ. In 2018, Spencer Lee and Yianni Diakomahalis, both true freshmen, won titles. And last year? Virginia Tech’s redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis stunned two-time defending champ Vincenzo Joseph by taking him to his back with that amazing cradle, which kept the rookie NCAA champ streak alive at six years.
There were several rookies who had legitimate shots at becoming a national champion this year. Obviously, Griffith was one, though he was at one of collegiate wrestling’s most competitive weight classes. Besides Joseph and Shields, 165 boasted bruisers like Alex Marinelli/Iowa, Evan Wick/Wisconsin, David McFadden/VT, Isaiah White/Nebraska, and fellow rookie Travis Wittlake/Oklahoma State.
The decision for Rookie of the Year came down to three contenders, The other two were Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso and Griffith’s teammate Real Woods.
Woods ended the year with one defeat, going 19-1 at 141 pounds. His sole loss, in overtime, came to Sasso’s teammate Luke Pletcher in a dual meet. Woods, originally from New Mexico, won a Southern Scuffle title and was the Pac 12 champ.
Sasso ended the season 24-3. Two of those losses were in tournament finals, one at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to Minnesota’s Brayton Lee (also a rookie), and then to Iowa’s Pat Lugo at the Big Tens. He was pinned in a dual meet by VT’s Brent Moore, though he avenged that two weeks later at the Cliff Keen. He also defeated Lee and Lugo in dual meets.
Conference tournaments offer ample opportunities for rookies to shine, and this was most apparent in the PAC 12, which produced three freshmen champs. Joining Griffith and Woods in the PAC 12 was Arizona State’s Jacori Teemer.
The MAC and EIWA were especially stingy to neophytes. In the EIWA, only Harvard’s 285 pound Yaraslau Slavikouski reached the finals, where he lost to Lehigh’s Jordan Wood.
The Big Ten Conference had one rookie champ, Penn State’s Aaron Brooks. The Big 12 saw two freshmen win titles; David Carr/Iowa State, and Travis Wittlake/Oklahoma State.
Collegiate wrestling’s landscape will look much different next year. Old Dominion announced the end of wrestling at that school, and there are expectations that other programs will follow. The deforestation of college athletics is at hand. This means that scholarships will be chopped and dwindled. Recruiting for a few will be extra-intense, but many very good high school seniors will be passed over in DI. This could translate into the elevation of DII talent. Wrestlers who expected an offer from a DI school might find themselves at Notre Dame College or St. Cloud State. And what if the number of programs whittles so much that DI and DII are combined? It’s a possibility, and a solution, of sorts. This might be the return of small college champions at the DI tournament, with wrestlers like Wade Schalles and Carlton Haselrig rising up from the DII shadows.
One thing is certain. Next year will be interesting. And new.
Here’s a look at the top rookies for 2019-20.
125 Pounds
Last year saw two freshmen become All Americans at 125, and they were Vitali Arujau/Cornell and Patrick Glory/Princeton.
Our top rookie at this weight was Northwestern’s Michael DeAugustino. He ended the season 21-8, won no tournaments, though he was third at the Cliff Keen and runner-up at the Midlands. In Las Vegas, he fell in the semis to Virginia’s Jack Mueller 3-0, and at Evanston, he lost 4-0 to Patrick Glory. He was third at the Big Tens. At the season’s start, there was speculation that DeAugustino’s teammate, two-time All American Sebastian Rivera, would wrestle 125. Rivera was injured, and DeAugustino stepped in as his sub, but after his showing in Las Vegas, it seemed a better fit if Rivera bumped up to 133.
Jacob Camacho ended the season 20-6 and was the ACC champ, upsetting Jack Mueller in the finals 11-4. Not a bad way to end his freshman outing. His performance at the Cliff Keen was disappointing. He went 1-2, losing his opening bout 6-5 to Michigan’s Jack Medley. He was the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open champ, going 5-0 at the event.
Rutgers has a great one in Nicolas Aguilar. The Gilroy, California native was the Navy Classic champ. He was second at the Princeton Open, losing in the finals to Patrick Glory. In a dual meet, he upset Michael DeAugustino 3-1. He was ninth at the Big Tens and the No. 16 seed at the NCAAs. His second round opponent most likely would have been Spencer Lee.
Other notable rookies here are Patrick McKee/Minnesota (17-8), and Michael Colaiocco/Penn (23-7).
133 Pounds
Last year, this weight had a pair of rookie All Americans, Daton Fix/Oklahoma State and Roman Bravo-Young/Penn State. This would have been a difficult weight for rookies hoping to become All Americans had there been an NCAA Tournament. Returning national champ Seth Gross/Wisconsin, was here, and so were Sebastian Rivera and Cornell’s Charles Tucker.
Rutgers’ Rookies! That was the Scarlet Knights’ 1-2 punch this season. Sammy Alvarez followed teammate Nicolas Aguilar at 133, and when Nick Suriano returns next season from his Olympic redshirt, Rutgers is going to be unstoppable at the lower weights. Alvarez was sixth at the Big Tens, but mid-season, he won a Southern Scuffle title. He ended the season 26-10 and earned the No. 10 seed at the NCAAs.
Ridge Lovett helped Nebraska win the Cliff Keen team title by placing third after losing to Wyoming’s Montorie Bridges in the semis. His opening round opponent in Las Vegas was Utah Valley’s tough Taylor LaMont, who had won the Cliff Keen 125 pound title two years ago. Lovett defeated Taylor 6-1. The Husker captured a Daktronics title in November, and finished seventh at the Big Tens. Lovett won four Idaho state titles in high school and finished his prep career 169-0.
Northern Colorado’s Mosha Schwartz was second at the Big 12 Tournament and ended 23-10. He was fifth at the Cliff Keen and seventh at the Southern Scuffle. He was the Northern Colorado Open champ. He defeated Oklahoma State’s Reece Witcraft, a fellow rookie, in a dual by a close 12-11.
Reece Witcraft is pure Oklahoma, and a typical Cowboy wrestler. Sandpaper. He began the season 5-0 by winning the OCU Open. He upset Montorie Bridges in overtime in a dual meet. At the Big 12 Tournament, he was the No. 6 seed, but finished a disappointing seventh. Witcraft won two Oklahoma high school state titles wrestling for Broken Arrow.
141 Pounds
This weight was a three-man race, and one of them was Stanford rookie Real Woods. Although he posted a limited amount of bouts – 20 – he was able to win the Southern Scuffle and also a Pac 12 title. Woods’ sole defeat was in Columbus, to Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher, in overtime. Woods is a three-time Illinois state champ, and as a redshirt last season at Stanford, he was runner-up at the Southern Scuffle and finished the season 21-1. He was the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs.
Northern Iowa’s Michael Blockhus was a three-time Iowa high school state champ. Unseeded at the Cliff Keen, he lost his first bout, to All American Chad Red/Nebraska, then won five consolation bouts in a row. One of those victories was against All American Tariq Wilson/NC State. He ended sixth in Vegas. At the Big 12 Tournament, he was the No. 3 seed, but ended fifth.
If DII schools make a resurgence due to fewer DI programs, St. Cloud State will be one of the big benefactors. Joey Bianchini, the NCAA DII Region V Champion, ended the season with a 20-1 record. Bianchini was a two-time Illinois state champ.
But how about this? Bianchini’s teammate, and fellow freshman, Garrett Aldrich, ended his season 14-1 at this weight, yet did not compete in the NCAA regional qualifier. Aldrich defeated Bianchini in the BVU Open finals. That was Bianchini’s only loss of the season. The two were close all season, and in a best 2 out of 3 wrestle-off to see who would get the opportunity to qualify for the DII NCAAs, Bianchini emerged the victor. Aldrich (with just one loss), who ended No. 6 in Intermat’s final DII rankings, missed the Region V tournament because of a wrestle-off. Tough cakes.
Another notable was Pittsburgh’s Cole Mathews, who ended the season 18-9. He was third at the ACC Tournament.
149 Pounds
Rookies did well at this weight last year. Two, Austin O’Connor/North Carolina, and Brock Mauller/Missouri, won All American honors.
Once again, this was a rough weight class, though freshmen helped make it so. Ohio State rookie Sammy Sasso earned the No. 1 ranking after a weekend giant-killing spree where he downed Iowa’s Pat Lugo, and then extracted revenge on fellow freshman Brayton Lee/Minnesota, who defeated him at the Cliff Keen finals. Sasso defeated Lugo, in Iowa, in overtime by one point. At the Big Ten finals, Lugo reciprocated, beating the Buckeye 2-1. Sasso won the Michigan State Open in November and ended the season 24-3. He was the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs, and most likely would have met fellow rookie Andrew Alirez/Northern Colorado, in Round 2.
Minnesota’s Brayton Lee started the season by defeating CSU Bakersfield’s experienced Russell Rohlfing 8-7. Lee won his first seven bouts, then was injured. His welcome back party was against Oklahoma State’s Boo Lewallen. The Cowboy beat him 8-3. He won the Bison Open and the Cliff Keen before the New Year, and placed fourth at the Big Tens.
Andrew Alirez began the season 10-0, which included titles at the Cowboy Open and the Northern Colorado Open. He was runner-up at the Southern Scuffle, losing in the finals 3-2 to Stanford’s Jaden Abas (get ready to read much about Abas next season. He is a true freshman and took a redshirt this season). Alirez, a four-time Colorado high school state champ, ended his rookie season at Northern Colorado 24-4.
Notables included Graham Rooks/Indiana, Bryce Andonian/Virginia Tech, and DII’s Ryan Anderson/Centenary. Anderson won two Pennsylvania high school state titles wrestling for Bethlehem Catholic. He captured three tournament titles this season and won the DII regional. Rooks won the UNI Open and defeated several ranked wrestlers during the season, including Griffin Parriott/Purdue, Cole Martin/Wisconsin, and Yahya Thomas/Northwestern. He ended the season 16-10. Andonian went 18-6 and was runner-up at the ACC Tournament. He was the No. 20 seed at the NCAAs, with a first-round matchup against Northern Iowa’s Max Thomsen.
157 Pounds
No rookies became All American at 157 last year. AWN had six freshmen ranked in the top 20 at this season’s end, and three were in the top ten.
Iowa State’s sensational David Carr finished with just one loss, and was on the short list for our Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately, he had less than 20 total bouts. His one loss came at the Cliff Keen semifinals against Northwestern’s Ryan Deakin 9-3. Carr got the first takedown of that bout. He defeated fellow rookies Kendall Coleman/Purdue, and Jacori Teemer/Arizona State. He won the BIG 12, beating Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Sheets in the finals 6-4. He whipped Sheets in a dual meet three weeks earlier 14-6.
Kendall Coleman ended fourth at the Cliff Keen, losing in the semis to North Carolina State’s Hayden Hidlay, then to Carr for the match for third. He won his first 15 matches, which included a Michigan State Open title. At that event, he defeated Eric Barone/Illinois, Will Lewan/Michigan, and Zac Carson/Ohio, all who were ranked sometime during the season. He was runner-up at the Big Tens, losing 7-2 to Ryan Deakin. The Wildcat was a speed bump for rookies.
Arizona State’s Jacori Teemer had a bumpy start, losing his very first bout to Virginia’s Justin McCoy. He went 3-3 in Las Vegas at the Cliff Keen and placed eighth. His last loss was January 11, to David Carr 4-1 in a dual. Teemer won his final 11 bouts, which included a PAC 12 title.
Notables included Justin McCoy/Virginia, Peyton Robb/Nebraska, Jared Franek/North Dakota State, and Will Lewan/Michigan. Lewan ended his season 21-7. Franek was third at the BIG 12 and finished 27-7. Robb was seventh at the Cliff Keen and ended 20-6. McCoy wrapped up his season 18-13 and was fourth at the ACC Tournament.
165 Pounds
Our Rookie of the Year last season was Mekhi Lewis, a 165 pounder, and this year’s choice, Shane Griffith, was also at this weight.
Shane ‘Bullwhip’ Griffith. This guy was a brawler, and ended the year undefeated. No other rookie maneuvered through the shortened season unblemished, and only eight wrestlers reached the NCAA bracket undefeated. Griffith, from Westwood, N.J., won the Battle of the Citadel to begin his season 4-0, then went to Columbus and pinned Buckeye-standout Ethan Smith. He also won the Roadrunner Open, the Southern Scuffle, and the PAC 12. He was the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs.
Oklahoma State’s Travis Wittlake was the top seed at the BIG 12 Tournament, and that’s where he ended. The Champ. He began the season 4-0 by winning the OCU Open. He was second at the Southern Scuffle, losing to Shane Griffith 4-1 in the finals. Wittlake’s only other loss was in a dual, to Iowa’s Alex Marinelli 3-2, which was tighter than his bout against Griffith. Marinelli split bouts with Vincenzo Joseph. For anyone with doubted a repeat freshman champ at this weight, consider those results.
Fighting Illini Danny Braunagel was a two time Illinois high school state champ while at Althoff Catholic. He was sixth at the Big Tens, and received the No. 15 seed, which put him in the lower bracket quarter with Vincenzo Joseph and David McFadden. Rough waters. He helped Illinois secure a third place finish at the Midlands by taking fourth. He was also fourth at the Michigan State Open.
174 Pounds
The only freshman All American here last season was Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola, and it seemed to be a tough weight for rookies this year, too.
Michigan State’s Layne Malczewski was seventh at the Big Tens and earned the No. 25 seed at the NCAAs, which placed him in a first round matchup against Arizona State’s Anthony Valencia. He was in the bracket’s upper quarter, with Penn State’s Mark Hall. He went 3-1 at the South Beach Duals, and was fifth at the Michigan State Open. He ended the season 25-13.
Drexel’s Michael O’Malley was the No. 28 seed at the NCAAs and in the bracket’s second quarter in a first round matchup against Northern Iowa’s Bryce Steiert. O’Malley, a New Jersey high school state champ, ended the season 20-9. At the EIWAs, he lost to Lehigh’s Jordan Kutler 4-0, then placed fourth. He was third at the Keystone Classic.
Ohio State’s Rocky Jordan began the season at 174, then moved up a weight. He was the No. 14 seed at the NCAAs at 184. So, why do we have him listed at 174? Because he clocked in time here, and 174 was just slim pickins’ for rookies. Jordan was a four-time Ohio high school state champ, and led the Buckeyes this season in tech falls with seven. He was fifth at the Big Ten Tournament.
Notable was Duke’s Mason Eaglin who finished the season 21-12. He was the No. 32 seed at the NCAAs, and his pigtail bout fed into Mark Hall.
184 Pounds
No freshmen earned All American honors here last season. That wouldn’t have been the case at all this time, especially with two-time NCAA champ Zahid Valencia being ousted from participating in the tournament. This weight was wide open, and it was probably the division with the best chance at producing a rookie national champion.
Tough choosing the top freshman here. Penn State’s Aaron Brooks had just one loss, but only 16 total bouts on the season. NC State’s Trent Hidlay ended with four losses, but went 23-4 for the year. We put Hidlay at the top spot.
Hidlay was anchored to finishing runner-up this season. He started the season with ten victories, then lost to Zahid Valencia at the Cliff Keen finals. During that great start, he defeated All Americans Ben Darmstadt/Cornell and Lou DePrez/Binghamton. Hidlay was second at the Southern Scuffle, losing to 3-1 to DePrez in the finals. And at the ACCs, you guessed it, runner-up, to VT’s Hunter Bolen. Hidlay was the No. 5 seed at the NCAAs.
Aaron Brooks was the lone freshman to win a Big Ten title this year. In December, he won the Mat-Town Open. He was the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs and in the same bracket half with Hunter Bolen. Brooks, a four-time Maryland state champ, won the Big Ten Tournament with a 3-2 win over Michigan State’s Cam Caffey in the finals. He ended the season 15-1, with that lone loss to being to Nebraska’s Taylor Venz, which he avenged at the conference tournament by fall.
Oklahoma State’s Anthony Montalvo began the season by placing first at the OCU Open, sharing the top spot with teammate Dakota Geer. He was a two-time California state champ for Clovis High School. He took sixth at the Southern Scuffle, though he was injured and had to medical forfeit. He ended the season 25-6 and was third at the BIG 12s.
Two notables, both from Iowa colleges, were Abe Assad and Shane Liegal. Liegal, a DIII wrestler, competed for Loras College. He finished the season 26-5 and had ten falls. Assad wrestled for the Hawkeyes and was 22-7. He finished fourth at the Big Tens and was the No. 11 seed at the NCAAs.
197 Pounds
The lone freshman All American at this weight last year was Iowa’s Jacob Warner. Not a lot of room here in the top ten rankings for rookies this season.
Northwestern’s Lucas Davison earned the No. 15 seed at the NCAAs, which would have plopped him into a second round meeting with undefeated Noah Adams from West Virginia. He went 7-2 in conference dual meets, and was fifth at the Big Tens. He failed to place at the Cliff Keen, but had the misfortune of running into Christian Brunner/Purdue, then Tanner Orndorf/Utah Valley early in the bracket. He avenged the loss to Brunner two weeks later in a dual meet.
South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan finished runner-up at the BIG 12s, losing 5-1 to Noah Adams. He earned the No. 11 seed at the NCAAs, and actually sat in a manageable slot with Lehigh’s Jake Jakobsen as his first round opponent. Sloan was a two-time Iowa state champ and had 30 pins his senior year of high school.
Northern Illinois rookie Gage Braun finished the season 23-12 and was the No. 24 seed. Not a great place to be at all. His first round opponent was Arizona State’s Kordell Norfleet, and if he snuck past the Sun Devil, he likely would have faced Ohio State’s Kollin Moore. Braun placed fifth at the Midlands, and third at the MAC Tournament.
285 Pounds
There were some exceptional rookies at this weight last year, with the top three being Gable Steveson, Trent Hillger, and Mason Parris. Hillger and Steveson ended up as All Americans.
This year’s standout rookie heavyweight was Iowa’s Anthony Cassioppi. He ended the season 20-3, losing only to Steveson (twice) and Parris. The Hawkeye was third at the Big Tens and earned the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs. He was the Midlands champ, beating three wrestlers ranked in the top 20 there. Cassioppi was a two-time state champ in Illinois. His quickest pin this season took 20 seconds. Who says heavyweights aren’t fast?
Harvard’s Yarislau Slavikouski is from Belarus. He ended runner-up at the EIWA Tournament, falling to Lehigh’s Jordan Wood in the finals. He was named the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year. He was third at the Keystone Classic, and fourth at the Midlands. At one point during the season, he rode a 15-match win streak.
Heavyweight Jared Campbell was a DII wrestler from Notre Dame College. He was an Ohio high school state champ while wrestling for St. Edward. He won the Region III Tournament to qualify for the DII NCAAs. He was named by the NCAA as the Most Dominant Wrestler in Division II with an average of 4.95 team points.
Notables here were Seth Nevills/Penn State, and Thomas Penola/Purdue. Nevills began the season with ten wins before running into fellow rookie Tony Cassioppi. The Hawkeye beat him 7-0. Nevills, from Clovis, California, was a four-time state champ. He won the Mat-Town Open and the Wilkes Open. He failed to place at the Big Tens and did not qualify for the NCAAs. Penola was seventh in the Big Tens and earned the No. 26 seed at the NCAAs.
125
1. Michael DeAugustino/Northwestern (21-8)
2. Jakob Camacho/NC State (20-6)
3. Nicolas Aguilar/Rutgers (24-11)
133
1. Sammy Alvarez/Rutgers (26-10)
2. Ridge Lovett/Nebraska (17-8)
3. Mosha Schwartz/Northern Colorado (23-10)
141
1. Real Woods/Stanford (19-1)
2. Michael Blockhus/Northern Iowa (22-10)
3. Joey Bianchini/St. Cloud State (20-1)
149
1. Sammy Sasso/Ohio State (24-3)
2. Brayton Lee/Minnesota (25-8)
3. Andrew Alirez/Northern Colorado (24-4)
157
1. David Carr/Iowa State (18-1)
2. Kendall Coleman/Purdue (29-8)
3. Jacori Teemer/Arizona State (17-5)
165
1. Shane Griffith/Stanford (29-0)
2. Travis Wittlake/Oklahoma State (27-2)
3. Danny Braunagel/Illinois (23-9)
174
1. Layne Malczewski/Michigan State (25-13)
2. Michael O'Malley/Drexel (20-9)
3. Rocky Jordan/Ohio State (29-9)
184
1. Trent Hidlay/NC State (23-4)
2. Aaron Brooks/Penn State (15-1)
3. Anthony Montalvo/Oklahoma State (25-6)
197
1. Lucas Davison/Northwestern (17-8)
2. Tanner Sloan/South Dakota State (21-6)
3. Gage Braun/Northern Illinois (23-12)
285
1. Anthony Cassioppi/Iowa (20-3)
2. Yaraslau Slavikouski/Harvard (30-8)
3. Jared Campbell/Notre Dame College (20-2)
STANFORD PRESS RELEASE
STANFORD, Calif. – Redshirt freshman Shane Griffith has been tabbed the Amateur Wrestling News Rookie of the Year, the publication announced in its May edition.
An NWCA First Team All-American, Griffith was 28-0 in his rookie campaign and a finalist for the prestigious Hodge Trophy. The Pac-12 Wrestler and Newcomer of the Year, was seeded third for the NCAA Tournament. His 28 consecutive wins are the most to start a career in program history and the second-longest winning streak by a Stanford wrestler.
Griffith's 28 wins were the seventh-most by a freshman in school history. The Pac-12 champion at 165 pounds, the Westwood, New Jersey, native, led the team with nine falls and had 18 bonus-point wins overall. Along with his conference title, he won the Battle at The Citadel, the Roadrunner Open and the Southern Scuffle.
The publication, which also provides its top 3 rookies at each weight class, named teammate Real Woods as the top freshman at 141 pounds. Woods was 19-1 overall, an NWCA First Team All-American and also seeded third for the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12 champion at 141 pounds, he will enter next season on a 15-match winning streak.
Griffith and Woods became just the second and third freshman All-Americans in program history and just the sixth and seventh rookies to win a conference title in school history.
AMATEUR WRESTLING NEWS PRESS RELEASE
Two of the nation's top freshmen competed for the Stanford Cardinal this year in Shane Griffith, 165 and Real Woods, 141. They led their team to second place in the PAC 12 Championships and had a combined record of 47-1. Both were seeded No. 3 in their respective weight classes when NCAA brackets were released in March.
Unfortunately neither had the opportunity to wrestle and challenge for NCAA medals with the cancellation of the championships.
For his undefeated season, along with being named the Outstanding Wrestler in the PAC 12 tournament, Shane Griffith (28-0) has been named Rookie of the Year by Amateur Wrestling News.
“He is a tremendous student-athlete and an overall great example of someone that does the little things right,” said Stanford coach Jason Borrelli. “He is very disciplined, consistent, and has tremendous passion.”
Prior to Stanford, Griffith was a three-time state champion at Bergen Catholic in Oradell, NJ, the same school that produced NCAA champ Nick Suriano of Rutgers. Griffith reached the finals four times and was named Outstanding Wrestler as a freshman.
In his rookie season, Griffith won titles at the Roadrunner Open, the Southern Scuffle and later claimed his first PAC 12 title at 165 pounds. He defeated Arizona State All-American Josh Shields 3-0 in the finals. It was his second seasonal victory over the Sun Devil. Griffith also had season wins over nationally ranked wrestlers Tanner Skidgel, Navy, Ethan Smith, Ohio State, Travis Wittlake, Oklahoma State, Andrew Fogerty, North Dakota State and Kennedy Monday, North Carolina.
“It is very hard to position yourself as a legitimate national title contender at any point in your career and Shane did it as a freshman,” said coach Borrelli. “He was primed to bring home just the second individual national title in program history and I had full confidence that he was going to get the job done in Minnesota.
“I am very proud of him and happy that he is being recognized with these honors. Our program is in great shape moving forward with Shane as one of our leaders.”
Griffith also excels in freestyle. He won the gold medal at 79 kg at the 2019 Junior Pan American Championships in Guatemala City and earned a runner-up finish at the 2019 Junior World Team Trials in Raleigh, N.C. He was also a two-time National Junior runner-up in Fargo, N.D.
AMATEUR WRESTLING NEWS’ 2019-20 ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
The staff at Amateur Wrestling News has always counted on NCAA Tournament results to help sort Rookie of the Year honors. This time was obviously a bit more challenging with the NCAA Tournament’s cancellation.
Stanford’s Shane Griffith was our choice for Rookie of the Year. He was the only freshman to finish the season undefeated, going 28-0. In the process, he won the Southern Scuffle and the Pac 12 Conference Tournament. His record included two wins over All American Josh Shields/Arizona State. He was seeded No. 3 at the NCAAs, and was in the same bracket half with Penn State’s Vincenzo Joseph. What an incredible semifinal bout theirs would have been.
Rookie national champions have become common in Division I wrestling. In 2014, Jason Tsirtsis and J’den Cox won titles. Cox was just the 14th true freshman ever to accomplish this. The following year, it was rookies Nathan Tomasello and Isaiah Martinez, although both were redshirts. In 2016, Myles Martin, a true freshman, defeated redshirt freshman Bo Nickal for the title. Three years ago, Mark Hall, another true freshman, became champ. In 2018, Spencer Lee and Yianni Diakomahalis, both true freshmen, won titles. And last year? Virginia Tech’s redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis stunned two-time defending champ Vincenzo Joseph by taking him to his back with that amazing cradle, which kept the rookie NCAA champ streak alive at six years.
There were several rookies who had legitimate shots at becoming a national champion this year. Obviously, Griffith was one, though he was at one of collegiate wrestling’s most competitive weight classes. Besides Joseph and Shields, 165 boasted bruisers like Alex Marinelli/Iowa, Evan Wick/Wisconsin, David McFadden/VT, Isaiah White/Nebraska, and fellow rookie Travis Wittlake/Oklahoma State.
The decision for Rookie of the Year came down to three contenders, The other two were Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso and Griffith’s teammate Real Woods.
Woods ended the year with one defeat, going 19-1 at 141 pounds. His sole loss, in overtime, came to Sasso’s teammate Luke Pletcher in a dual meet. Woods, originally from New Mexico, won a Southern Scuffle title and was the Pac 12 champ.
Sasso ended the season 24-3. Two of those losses were in tournament finals, one at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to Minnesota’s Brayton Lee (also a rookie), and then to Iowa’s Pat Lugo at the Big Tens. He was pinned in a dual meet by VT’s Brent Moore, though he avenged that two weeks later at the Cliff Keen. He also defeated Lee and Lugo in dual meets.
Conference tournaments offer ample opportunities for rookies to shine, and this was most apparent in the PAC 12, which produced three freshmen champs. Joining Griffith and Woods in the PAC 12 was Arizona State’s Jacori Teemer.
The MAC and EIWA were especially stingy to neophytes. In the EIWA, only Harvard’s 285 pound Yaraslau Slavikouski reached the finals, where he lost to Lehigh’s Jordan Wood.
The Big Ten Conference had one rookie champ, Penn State’s Aaron Brooks. The Big 12 saw two freshmen win titles; David Carr/Iowa State, and Travis Wittlake/Oklahoma State.
Collegiate wrestling’s landscape will look much different next year. Old Dominion announced the end of wrestling at that school, and there are expectations that other programs will follow. The deforestation of college athletics is at hand. This means that scholarships will be chopped and dwindled. Recruiting for a few will be extra-intense, but many very good high school seniors will be passed over in DI. This could translate into the elevation of DII talent. Wrestlers who expected an offer from a DI school might find themselves at Notre Dame College or St. Cloud State. And what if the number of programs whittles so much that DI and DII are combined? It’s a possibility, and a solution, of sorts. This might be the return of small college champions at the DI tournament, with wrestlers like Wade Schalles and Carlton Haselrig rising up from the DII shadows.
One thing is certain. Next year will be interesting. And new.
Here’s a look at the top rookies for 2019-20.
125 Pounds
Last year saw two freshmen become All Americans at 125, and they were Vitali Arujau/Cornell and Patrick Glory/Princeton.
Our top rookie at this weight was Northwestern’s Michael DeAugustino. He ended the season 21-8, won no tournaments, though he was third at the Cliff Keen and runner-up at the Midlands. In Las Vegas, he fell in the semis to Virginia’s Jack Mueller 3-0, and at Evanston, he lost 4-0 to Patrick Glory. He was third at the Big Tens. At the season’s start, there was speculation that DeAugustino’s teammate, two-time All American Sebastian Rivera, would wrestle 125. Rivera was injured, and DeAugustino stepped in as his sub, but after his showing in Las Vegas, it seemed a better fit if Rivera bumped up to 133.
Jacob Camacho ended the season 20-6 and was the ACC champ, upsetting Jack Mueller in the finals 11-4. Not a bad way to end his freshman outing. His performance at the Cliff Keen was disappointing. He went 1-2, losing his opening bout 6-5 to Michigan’s Jack Medley. He was the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open champ, going 5-0 at the event.
Rutgers has a great one in Nicolas Aguilar. The Gilroy, California native was the Navy Classic champ. He was second at the Princeton Open, losing in the finals to Patrick Glory. In a dual meet, he upset Michael DeAugustino 3-1. He was ninth at the Big Tens and the No. 16 seed at the NCAAs. His second round opponent most likely would have been Spencer Lee.
Other notable rookies here are Patrick McKee/Minnesota (17-8), and Michael Colaiocco/Penn (23-7).
133 Pounds
Last year, this weight had a pair of rookie All Americans, Daton Fix/Oklahoma State and Roman Bravo-Young/Penn State. This would have been a difficult weight for rookies hoping to become All Americans had there been an NCAA Tournament. Returning national champ Seth Gross/Wisconsin, was here, and so were Sebastian Rivera and Cornell’s Charles Tucker.
Rutgers’ Rookies! That was the Scarlet Knights’ 1-2 punch this season. Sammy Alvarez followed teammate Nicolas Aguilar at 133, and when Nick Suriano returns next season from his Olympic redshirt, Rutgers is going to be unstoppable at the lower weights. Alvarez was sixth at the Big Tens, but mid-season, he won a Southern Scuffle title. He ended the season 26-10 and earned the No. 10 seed at the NCAAs.
Ridge Lovett helped Nebraska win the Cliff Keen team title by placing third after losing to Wyoming’s Montorie Bridges in the semis. His opening round opponent in Las Vegas was Utah Valley’s tough Taylor LaMont, who had won the Cliff Keen 125 pound title two years ago. Lovett defeated Taylor 6-1. The Husker captured a Daktronics title in November, and finished seventh at the Big Tens. Lovett won four Idaho state titles in high school and finished his prep career 169-0.
Northern Colorado’s Mosha Schwartz was second at the Big 12 Tournament and ended 23-10. He was fifth at the Cliff Keen and seventh at the Southern Scuffle. He was the Northern Colorado Open champ. He defeated Oklahoma State’s Reece Witcraft, a fellow rookie, in a dual by a close 12-11.
Reece Witcraft is pure Oklahoma, and a typical Cowboy wrestler. Sandpaper. He began the season 5-0 by winning the OCU Open. He upset Montorie Bridges in overtime in a dual meet. At the Big 12 Tournament, he was the No. 6 seed, but finished a disappointing seventh. Witcraft won two Oklahoma high school state titles wrestling for Broken Arrow.
141 Pounds
This weight was a three-man race, and one of them was Stanford rookie Real Woods. Although he posted a limited amount of bouts – 20 – he was able to win the Southern Scuffle and also a Pac 12 title. Woods’ sole defeat was in Columbus, to Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher, in overtime. Woods is a three-time Illinois state champ, and as a redshirt last season at Stanford, he was runner-up at the Southern Scuffle and finished the season 21-1. He was the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs.
Northern Iowa’s Michael Blockhus was a three-time Iowa high school state champ. Unseeded at the Cliff Keen, he lost his first bout, to All American Chad Red/Nebraska, then won five consolation bouts in a row. One of those victories was against All American Tariq Wilson/NC State. He ended sixth in Vegas. At the Big 12 Tournament, he was the No. 3 seed, but ended fifth.
If DII schools make a resurgence due to fewer DI programs, St. Cloud State will be one of the big benefactors. Joey Bianchini, the NCAA DII Region V Champion, ended the season with a 20-1 record. Bianchini was a two-time Illinois state champ.
But how about this? Bianchini’s teammate, and fellow freshman, Garrett Aldrich, ended his season 14-1 at this weight, yet did not compete in the NCAA regional qualifier. Aldrich defeated Bianchini in the BVU Open finals. That was Bianchini’s only loss of the season. The two were close all season, and in a best 2 out of 3 wrestle-off to see who would get the opportunity to qualify for the DII NCAAs, Bianchini emerged the victor. Aldrich (with just one loss), who ended No. 6 in Intermat’s final DII rankings, missed the Region V tournament because of a wrestle-off. Tough cakes.
Another notable was Pittsburgh’s Cole Mathews, who ended the season 18-9. He was third at the ACC Tournament.
149 Pounds
Rookies did well at this weight last year. Two, Austin O’Connor/North Carolina, and Brock Mauller/Missouri, won All American honors.
Once again, this was a rough weight class, though freshmen helped make it so. Ohio State rookie Sammy Sasso earned the No. 1 ranking after a weekend giant-killing spree where he downed Iowa’s Pat Lugo, and then extracted revenge on fellow freshman Brayton Lee/Minnesota, who defeated him at the Cliff Keen finals. Sasso defeated Lugo, in Iowa, in overtime by one point. At the Big Ten finals, Lugo reciprocated, beating the Buckeye 2-1. Sasso won the Michigan State Open in November and ended the season 24-3. He was the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs, and most likely would have met fellow rookie Andrew Alirez/Northern Colorado, in Round 2.
Minnesota’s Brayton Lee started the season by defeating CSU Bakersfield’s experienced Russell Rohlfing 8-7. Lee won his first seven bouts, then was injured. His welcome back party was against Oklahoma State’s Boo Lewallen. The Cowboy beat him 8-3. He won the Bison Open and the Cliff Keen before the New Year, and placed fourth at the Big Tens.
Andrew Alirez began the season 10-0, which included titles at the Cowboy Open and the Northern Colorado Open. He was runner-up at the Southern Scuffle, losing in the finals 3-2 to Stanford’s Jaden Abas (get ready to read much about Abas next season. He is a true freshman and took a redshirt this season). Alirez, a four-time Colorado high school state champ, ended his rookie season at Northern Colorado 24-4.
Notables included Graham Rooks/Indiana, Bryce Andonian/Virginia Tech, and DII’s Ryan Anderson/Centenary. Anderson won two Pennsylvania high school state titles wrestling for Bethlehem Catholic. He captured three tournament titles this season and won the DII regional. Rooks won the UNI Open and defeated several ranked wrestlers during the season, including Griffin Parriott/Purdue, Cole Martin/Wisconsin, and Yahya Thomas/Northwestern. He ended the season 16-10. Andonian went 18-6 and was runner-up at the ACC Tournament. He was the No. 20 seed at the NCAAs, with a first-round matchup against Northern Iowa’s Max Thomsen.
157 Pounds
No rookies became All American at 157 last year. AWN had six freshmen ranked in the top 20 at this season’s end, and three were in the top ten.
Iowa State’s sensational David Carr finished with just one loss, and was on the short list for our Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately, he had less than 20 total bouts. His one loss came at the Cliff Keen semifinals against Northwestern’s Ryan Deakin 9-3. Carr got the first takedown of that bout. He defeated fellow rookies Kendall Coleman/Purdue, and Jacori Teemer/Arizona State. He won the BIG 12, beating Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Sheets in the finals 6-4. He whipped Sheets in a dual meet three weeks earlier 14-6.
Kendall Coleman ended fourth at the Cliff Keen, losing in the semis to North Carolina State’s Hayden Hidlay, then to Carr for the match for third. He won his first 15 matches, which included a Michigan State Open title. At that event, he defeated Eric Barone/Illinois, Will Lewan/Michigan, and Zac Carson/Ohio, all who were ranked sometime during the season. He was runner-up at the Big Tens, losing 7-2 to Ryan Deakin. The Wildcat was a speed bump for rookies.
Arizona State’s Jacori Teemer had a bumpy start, losing his very first bout to Virginia’s Justin McCoy. He went 3-3 in Las Vegas at the Cliff Keen and placed eighth. His last loss was January 11, to David Carr 4-1 in a dual. Teemer won his final 11 bouts, which included a PAC 12 title.
Notables included Justin McCoy/Virginia, Peyton Robb/Nebraska, Jared Franek/North Dakota State, and Will Lewan/Michigan. Lewan ended his season 21-7. Franek was third at the BIG 12 and finished 27-7. Robb was seventh at the Cliff Keen and ended 20-6. McCoy wrapped up his season 18-13 and was fourth at the ACC Tournament.
165 Pounds
Our Rookie of the Year last season was Mekhi Lewis, a 165 pounder, and this year’s choice, Shane Griffith, was also at this weight.
Shane ‘Bullwhip’ Griffith. This guy was a brawler, and ended the year undefeated. No other rookie maneuvered through the shortened season unblemished, and only eight wrestlers reached the NCAA bracket undefeated. Griffith, from Westwood, N.J., won the Battle of the Citadel to begin his season 4-0, then went to Columbus and pinned Buckeye-standout Ethan Smith. He also won the Roadrunner Open, the Southern Scuffle, and the PAC 12. He was the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs.
Oklahoma State’s Travis Wittlake was the top seed at the BIG 12 Tournament, and that’s where he ended. The Champ. He began the season 4-0 by winning the OCU Open. He was second at the Southern Scuffle, losing to Shane Griffith 4-1 in the finals. Wittlake’s only other loss was in a dual, to Iowa’s Alex Marinelli 3-2, which was tighter than his bout against Griffith. Marinelli split bouts with Vincenzo Joseph. For anyone with doubted a repeat freshman champ at this weight, consider those results.
Fighting Illini Danny Braunagel was a two time Illinois high school state champ while at Althoff Catholic. He was sixth at the Big Tens, and received the No. 15 seed, which put him in the lower bracket quarter with Vincenzo Joseph and David McFadden. Rough waters. He helped Illinois secure a third place finish at the Midlands by taking fourth. He was also fourth at the Michigan State Open.
174 Pounds
The only freshman All American here last season was Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola, and it seemed to be a tough weight for rookies this year, too.
Michigan State’s Layne Malczewski was seventh at the Big Tens and earned the No. 25 seed at the NCAAs, which placed him in a first round matchup against Arizona State’s Anthony Valencia. He was in the bracket’s upper quarter, with Penn State’s Mark Hall. He went 3-1 at the South Beach Duals, and was fifth at the Michigan State Open. He ended the season 25-13.
Drexel’s Michael O’Malley was the No. 28 seed at the NCAAs and in the bracket’s second quarter in a first round matchup against Northern Iowa’s Bryce Steiert. O’Malley, a New Jersey high school state champ, ended the season 20-9. At the EIWAs, he lost to Lehigh’s Jordan Kutler 4-0, then placed fourth. He was third at the Keystone Classic.
Ohio State’s Rocky Jordan began the season at 174, then moved up a weight. He was the No. 14 seed at the NCAAs at 184. So, why do we have him listed at 174? Because he clocked in time here, and 174 was just slim pickins’ for rookies. Jordan was a four-time Ohio high school state champ, and led the Buckeyes this season in tech falls with seven. He was fifth at the Big Ten Tournament.
Notable was Duke’s Mason Eaglin who finished the season 21-12. He was the No. 32 seed at the NCAAs, and his pigtail bout fed into Mark Hall.
184 Pounds
No freshmen earned All American honors here last season. That wouldn’t have been the case at all this time, especially with two-time NCAA champ Zahid Valencia being ousted from participating in the tournament. This weight was wide open, and it was probably the division with the best chance at producing a rookie national champion.
Tough choosing the top freshman here. Penn State’s Aaron Brooks had just one loss, but only 16 total bouts on the season. NC State’s Trent Hidlay ended with four losses, but went 23-4 for the year. We put Hidlay at the top spot.
Hidlay was anchored to finishing runner-up this season. He started the season with ten victories, then lost to Zahid Valencia at the Cliff Keen finals. During that great start, he defeated All Americans Ben Darmstadt/Cornell and Lou DePrez/Binghamton. Hidlay was second at the Southern Scuffle, losing to 3-1 to DePrez in the finals. And at the ACCs, you guessed it, runner-up, to VT’s Hunter Bolen. Hidlay was the No. 5 seed at the NCAAs.
Aaron Brooks was the lone freshman to win a Big Ten title this year. In December, he won the Mat-Town Open. He was the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs and in the same bracket half with Hunter Bolen. Brooks, a four-time Maryland state champ, won the Big Ten Tournament with a 3-2 win over Michigan State’s Cam Caffey in the finals. He ended the season 15-1, with that lone loss to being to Nebraska’s Taylor Venz, which he avenged at the conference tournament by fall.
Oklahoma State’s Anthony Montalvo began the season by placing first at the OCU Open, sharing the top spot with teammate Dakota Geer. He was a two-time California state champ for Clovis High School. He took sixth at the Southern Scuffle, though he was injured and had to medical forfeit. He ended the season 25-6 and was third at the BIG 12s.
Two notables, both from Iowa colleges, were Abe Assad and Shane Liegal. Liegal, a DIII wrestler, competed for Loras College. He finished the season 26-5 and had ten falls. Assad wrestled for the Hawkeyes and was 22-7. He finished fourth at the Big Tens and was the No. 11 seed at the NCAAs.
197 Pounds
The lone freshman All American at this weight last year was Iowa’s Jacob Warner. Not a lot of room here in the top ten rankings for rookies this season.
Northwestern’s Lucas Davison earned the No. 15 seed at the NCAAs, which would have plopped him into a second round meeting with undefeated Noah Adams from West Virginia. He went 7-2 in conference dual meets, and was fifth at the Big Tens. He failed to place at the Cliff Keen, but had the misfortune of running into Christian Brunner/Purdue, then Tanner Orndorf/Utah Valley early in the bracket. He avenged the loss to Brunner two weeks later in a dual meet.
South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan finished runner-up at the BIG 12s, losing 5-1 to Noah Adams. He earned the No. 11 seed at the NCAAs, and actually sat in a manageable slot with Lehigh’s Jake Jakobsen as his first round opponent. Sloan was a two-time Iowa state champ and had 30 pins his senior year of high school.
Northern Illinois rookie Gage Braun finished the season 23-12 and was the No. 24 seed. Not a great place to be at all. His first round opponent was Arizona State’s Kordell Norfleet, and if he snuck past the Sun Devil, he likely would have faced Ohio State’s Kollin Moore. Braun placed fifth at the Midlands, and third at the MAC Tournament.
285 Pounds
There were some exceptional rookies at this weight last year, with the top three being Gable Steveson, Trent Hillger, and Mason Parris. Hillger and Steveson ended up as All Americans.
This year’s standout rookie heavyweight was Iowa’s Anthony Cassioppi. He ended the season 20-3, losing only to Steveson (twice) and Parris. The Hawkeye was third at the Big Tens and earned the No. 3 seed at the NCAAs. He was the Midlands champ, beating three wrestlers ranked in the top 20 there. Cassioppi was a two-time state champ in Illinois. His quickest pin this season took 20 seconds. Who says heavyweights aren’t fast?
Harvard’s Yarislau Slavikouski is from Belarus. He ended runner-up at the EIWA Tournament, falling to Lehigh’s Jordan Wood in the finals. He was named the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year. He was third at the Keystone Classic, and fourth at the Midlands. At one point during the season, he rode a 15-match win streak.
Heavyweight Jared Campbell was a DII wrestler from Notre Dame College. He was an Ohio high school state champ while wrestling for St. Edward. He won the Region III Tournament to qualify for the DII NCAAs. He was named by the NCAA as the Most Dominant Wrestler in Division II with an average of 4.95 team points.
Notables here were Seth Nevills/Penn State, and Thomas Penola/Purdue. Nevills began the season with ten wins before running into fellow rookie Tony Cassioppi. The Hawkeye beat him 7-0. Nevills, from Clovis, California, was a four-time state champ. He won the Mat-Town Open and the Wilkes Open. He failed to place at the Big Tens and did not qualify for the NCAAs. Penola was seventh in the Big Tens and earned the No. 26 seed at the NCAAs.
125
1. Michael DeAugustino/Northwestern (21-8)
2. Jakob Camacho/NC State (20-6)
3. Nicolas Aguilar/Rutgers (24-11)
133
1. Sammy Alvarez/Rutgers (26-10)
2. Ridge Lovett/Nebraska (17-8)
3. Mosha Schwartz/Northern Colorado (23-10)
141
1. Real Woods/Stanford (19-1)
2. Michael Blockhus/Northern Iowa (22-10)
3. Joey Bianchini/St. Cloud State (20-1)
149
1. Sammy Sasso/Ohio State (24-3)
2. Brayton Lee/Minnesota (25-8)
3. Andrew Alirez/Northern Colorado (24-4)
157
1. David Carr/Iowa State (18-1)
2. Kendall Coleman/Purdue (29-8)
3. Jacori Teemer/Arizona State (17-5)
165
1. Shane Griffith/Stanford (29-0)
2. Travis Wittlake/Oklahoma State (27-2)
3. Danny Braunagel/Illinois (23-9)
174
1. Layne Malczewski/Michigan State (25-13)
2. Michael O'Malley/Drexel (20-9)
3. Rocky Jordan/Ohio State (29-9)
184
1. Trent Hidlay/NC State (23-4)
2. Aaron Brooks/Penn State (15-1)
3. Anthony Montalvo/Oklahoma State (25-6)
197
1. Lucas Davison/Northwestern (17-8)
2. Tanner Sloan/South Dakota State (21-6)
3. Gage Braun/Northern Illinois (23-12)
285
1. Anthony Cassioppi/Iowa (20-3)
2. Yaraslau Slavikouski/Harvard (30-8)
3. Jared Campbell/Notre Dame College (20-2)
STANFORD PRESS RELEASE
STANFORD, Calif. – Redshirt freshman Shane Griffith has been tabbed the Amateur Wrestling News Rookie of the Year, the publication announced in its May edition.
An NWCA First Team All-American, Griffith was 28-0 in his rookie campaign and a finalist for the prestigious Hodge Trophy. The Pac-12 Wrestler and Newcomer of the Year, was seeded third for the NCAA Tournament. His 28 consecutive wins are the most to start a career in program history and the second-longest winning streak by a Stanford wrestler.
Griffith's 28 wins were the seventh-most by a freshman in school history. The Pac-12 champion at 165 pounds, the Westwood, New Jersey, native, led the team with nine falls and had 18 bonus-point wins overall. Along with his conference title, he won the Battle at The Citadel, the Roadrunner Open and the Southern Scuffle.
The publication, which also provides its top 3 rookies at each weight class, named teammate Real Woods as the top freshman at 141 pounds. Woods was 19-1 overall, an NWCA First Team All-American and also seeded third for the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12 champion at 141 pounds, he will enter next season on a 15-match winning streak.
Griffith and Woods became just the second and third freshman All-Americans in program history and just the sixth and seventh rookies to win a conference title in school history.
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