Post by willyman57 on Mar 28, 2008 11:28:49 GMT -5
Metcalf Wins 2008 Hodge Trophy
Hawkeye sophomore is second Iowa wrestler to earn national honor
March 28, 2008
The following release appears courtesy of W.I.N. Magazine.
NEWTON, IA -- Iowa sophomore Brent Metcalf climaxed his first year of
college wrestling by capturing the 149-pound title at the NCAA
Championships, March 22, in St. Louis. Metcalf was also voted the
tourney's Outstanding Wrestler for winning the weight class considered
the toughest in college wrestling this year.
For this year's performance, Metcalf has been named the winner of the
Dan Hodge Trophy for 2008 -- completing his clean sweep of the Big Three
(NCAA champion, O.W. and Hodge winner).
The Dan Hodge Trophy is presented annually to the nation's most dominant
college wrestler. It is named for the undefeated, three-time NCAA
champion from Oklahoma University in the mid 1950s. The only wrestler to
ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April 1, 19576), Hodge
has the highest pinning percentage in collegiate history, and was known
for his dominating style of wrestling.
The award is co-sponsored by W.I.N. Magazine and the Dan Gable
International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
"The purpose of the award, initiated in 1995, is to reward excellence in
college wrestling and, particularly, a dominating style of wrestling,"
said Mike Chapman, founder of the trophy. "The way a wrestler competes
is what we look for. Going undefeated is very important, but equally
important is going all-out on the mat -- winning through domination, the
way Dan Hodge did. We think a dominating style of wrestling is a key
element to the sport's popularity and we want to reward that style of
wrestling."
The first winner was T.J. Jaworsky of North Carolina, in 1995. Last
year's winner was Missouri's Ben Askren, for the second straight season.
The only other multi-year winner was Iowa State's Cael Sanderson, who
captured three straight Hodges, the last in 2002.
The award is often called "The Heisman Trophy of wrestling" and is
presented at the wrestling banquet of the winning school. It is usually
presented again in the fall, during halftime of a football game. Upwards
of 70,000 fans have seen some recipients hold the trophy aloft at
halftime.
The only other Hawkeye to win the award was Mark Ironside, in 1998.
This season, Metcalf posted a season record of 39-1, which included 12
pins, seven tech falls and nine major decisions. Seventy percent (28) of
his victories were by pin, tech fall or major. The other top-two
contenders were Keith Gavin (174) of Pittsburgh and Ohio State's Mike
Pucillo (184).
A two-time finalist, Gavin finished his senior campaign 27-0 with five
pins, two tech falls and five majors, giving the Panther senior
bonus-point wins in 44 percent of his matches.
The Buckeye sophomore national champ finished 34-1 with six pins, six
techs and eight majors. Pucillo grabbed bonus points in 57 percent of
his matches.
Metcalf was selected over Gavin and other one-loss wrestlers primarily
because of his number of pins, dominance in bonus- point wins and
strength of schedule.
This was Metcalf's first year of competition at the college level, as he
was forced to miss the 2007 season after transferring from Virginia Tech
when Tom Brands accepted the head job at Iowa in the spring of 2006.
Metcalf compiled a stunning 228-0 record in high school.
"Brent Metcalf epitomizes what this award is all about," said Chapman.
"He brings a mindset to the mat that is hard to deny. He goes all out,
every match. He never seems satisfied. He has brought great excitement
to the sport this year, leading Iowa to a runaway victory at the NCAA
tournament.
"I've attended 38 NCAA tournaments, and he is one of the most
talked-about wrestlers I can remember."
Tom Brands said winning the Hodge Trophy was one of the goals for his
wrestlers all season long, and he was extremely pleased to hear that
Metcalf was the winner.
"Everything he's gotten in the sport he's earned," said Brands, "and
this is no different. It's who he is, the way he was raised. He
appreciates the award immensely because he knows what it stands for. It
stands for domination and he embodies that."
W.I.N. publisher Bryan Van Kley agreed Metcalf's approach towards
domination and national title at 149 pounds made him a very worthy
recipient of the award.
"When I interviewed Metcalf after winning the title, he talked about
being disappointed about giving up the two first-period takedowns in the
finals. He also said he won't look back with any regrets (after his
college career) about not having a fourth year of college eligibility
after transferring to Iowa, saying he will be remembered for what he
does on the World and Olympic level. Wrestling needs more Brent
Metcalfs," Van Kley said.
The Dan Hodge Trophy will be presented to Metcalf at the Iowa wrestling
banquet on May 4 by representatives of W.I.N. and the Dan Gable Museum.
The banquet will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Iowa City.
Results from both the preseason NWCA All-Star meet, as well as the early
December Las Vegas Invite, do count towards W.I.N.'s rankings and
individuals who are be considered for the Dan Hodge Trophy. For the
NCAA's record-keeping, the results from the All- Star meet do not count
and the Vegas tourney's results have been taken off the books this year
as the tournament did not do proper skin checks.
2008 Hodge Trophy Finalists
The following is a 2007-08 statistical breakdown of seven college
wrestlers who deserved mention among top candidates for the Hodge
Trophy.
Name, School (Record - Pins - TF - MD)
Phil Davis, Penn State (26-1 - 8 - 3 - 6)
Angel Escobedo, Iowa (34-1 - 8 - 1 - 8)
Tervel Dlagnev, UNK/Div. II (38-0 - 16 - 5 - 5)
Dustin Fox, Northwestern (29-1 - 2 - 3 - 8)
Keith Gavin, Pittsburgh (27-0 - 5 - 2 - 5)
Brent Metcalf, Iowa (39-1 - 12 - 7 - 9)
Mike Pucillo, Ohio State (34-1 - 6 - 6 - 8)
Past Hodge Trophy Award Winners
1995 - T.J. Jaworsky, 134, North Carolina
1996 - Les Gutches, 177, Oregon State
1997 - Kerry McCoy, 285, Penn State
1998 - Mark Ironside, 134, Iowa
1999 - Stephen Neal, 285, Cal-State Bakersfield
2000 - Cael Sanderson, 184, Iowa State
2001 - Nick Ackerman, 174, Simpson College; Cael Sanderson, 184, Iowa
State
2002 - Cael Sanderson, 197, Iowa State
2003 - Eric Larkin, 149, Arizona State
2004 - Emmett Willson, 197, Montana State University - Northern
2005 - Steve Mocco, 285, Oklahoma State
2006 - Ben Askren, 174, Missouri
2007 - Ben Askren, 174, Missouri
Hawkeye sophomore is second Iowa wrestler to earn national honor
March 28, 2008
The following release appears courtesy of W.I.N. Magazine.
NEWTON, IA -- Iowa sophomore Brent Metcalf climaxed his first year of
college wrestling by capturing the 149-pound title at the NCAA
Championships, March 22, in St. Louis. Metcalf was also voted the
tourney's Outstanding Wrestler for winning the weight class considered
the toughest in college wrestling this year.
For this year's performance, Metcalf has been named the winner of the
Dan Hodge Trophy for 2008 -- completing his clean sweep of the Big Three
(NCAA champion, O.W. and Hodge winner).
The Dan Hodge Trophy is presented annually to the nation's most dominant
college wrestler. It is named for the undefeated, three-time NCAA
champion from Oklahoma University in the mid 1950s. The only wrestler to
ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April 1, 19576), Hodge
has the highest pinning percentage in collegiate history, and was known
for his dominating style of wrestling.
The award is co-sponsored by W.I.N. Magazine and the Dan Gable
International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
"The purpose of the award, initiated in 1995, is to reward excellence in
college wrestling and, particularly, a dominating style of wrestling,"
said Mike Chapman, founder of the trophy. "The way a wrestler competes
is what we look for. Going undefeated is very important, but equally
important is going all-out on the mat -- winning through domination, the
way Dan Hodge did. We think a dominating style of wrestling is a key
element to the sport's popularity and we want to reward that style of
wrestling."
The first winner was T.J. Jaworsky of North Carolina, in 1995. Last
year's winner was Missouri's Ben Askren, for the second straight season.
The only other multi-year winner was Iowa State's Cael Sanderson, who
captured three straight Hodges, the last in 2002.
The award is often called "The Heisman Trophy of wrestling" and is
presented at the wrestling banquet of the winning school. It is usually
presented again in the fall, during halftime of a football game. Upwards
of 70,000 fans have seen some recipients hold the trophy aloft at
halftime.
The only other Hawkeye to win the award was Mark Ironside, in 1998.
This season, Metcalf posted a season record of 39-1, which included 12
pins, seven tech falls and nine major decisions. Seventy percent (28) of
his victories were by pin, tech fall or major. The other top-two
contenders were Keith Gavin (174) of Pittsburgh and Ohio State's Mike
Pucillo (184).
A two-time finalist, Gavin finished his senior campaign 27-0 with five
pins, two tech falls and five majors, giving the Panther senior
bonus-point wins in 44 percent of his matches.
The Buckeye sophomore national champ finished 34-1 with six pins, six
techs and eight majors. Pucillo grabbed bonus points in 57 percent of
his matches.
Metcalf was selected over Gavin and other one-loss wrestlers primarily
because of his number of pins, dominance in bonus- point wins and
strength of schedule.
This was Metcalf's first year of competition at the college level, as he
was forced to miss the 2007 season after transferring from Virginia Tech
when Tom Brands accepted the head job at Iowa in the spring of 2006.
Metcalf compiled a stunning 228-0 record in high school.
"Brent Metcalf epitomizes what this award is all about," said Chapman.
"He brings a mindset to the mat that is hard to deny. He goes all out,
every match. He never seems satisfied. He has brought great excitement
to the sport this year, leading Iowa to a runaway victory at the NCAA
tournament.
"I've attended 38 NCAA tournaments, and he is one of the most
talked-about wrestlers I can remember."
Tom Brands said winning the Hodge Trophy was one of the goals for his
wrestlers all season long, and he was extremely pleased to hear that
Metcalf was the winner.
"Everything he's gotten in the sport he's earned," said Brands, "and
this is no different. It's who he is, the way he was raised. He
appreciates the award immensely because he knows what it stands for. It
stands for domination and he embodies that."
W.I.N. publisher Bryan Van Kley agreed Metcalf's approach towards
domination and national title at 149 pounds made him a very worthy
recipient of the award.
"When I interviewed Metcalf after winning the title, he talked about
being disappointed about giving up the two first-period takedowns in the
finals. He also said he won't look back with any regrets (after his
college career) about not having a fourth year of college eligibility
after transferring to Iowa, saying he will be remembered for what he
does on the World and Olympic level. Wrestling needs more Brent
Metcalfs," Van Kley said.
The Dan Hodge Trophy will be presented to Metcalf at the Iowa wrestling
banquet on May 4 by representatives of W.I.N. and the Dan Gable Museum.
The banquet will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Iowa City.
Results from both the preseason NWCA All-Star meet, as well as the early
December Las Vegas Invite, do count towards W.I.N.'s rankings and
individuals who are be considered for the Dan Hodge Trophy. For the
NCAA's record-keeping, the results from the All- Star meet do not count
and the Vegas tourney's results have been taken off the books this year
as the tournament did not do proper skin checks.
2008 Hodge Trophy Finalists
The following is a 2007-08 statistical breakdown of seven college
wrestlers who deserved mention among top candidates for the Hodge
Trophy.
Name, School (Record - Pins - TF - MD)
Phil Davis, Penn State (26-1 - 8 - 3 - 6)
Angel Escobedo, Iowa (34-1 - 8 - 1 - 8)
Tervel Dlagnev, UNK/Div. II (38-0 - 16 - 5 - 5)
Dustin Fox, Northwestern (29-1 - 2 - 3 - 8)
Keith Gavin, Pittsburgh (27-0 - 5 - 2 - 5)
Brent Metcalf, Iowa (39-1 - 12 - 7 - 9)
Mike Pucillo, Ohio State (34-1 - 6 - 6 - 8)
Past Hodge Trophy Award Winners
1995 - T.J. Jaworsky, 134, North Carolina
1996 - Les Gutches, 177, Oregon State
1997 - Kerry McCoy, 285, Penn State
1998 - Mark Ironside, 134, Iowa
1999 - Stephen Neal, 285, Cal-State Bakersfield
2000 - Cael Sanderson, 184, Iowa State
2001 - Nick Ackerman, 174, Simpson College; Cael Sanderson, 184, Iowa
State
2002 - Cael Sanderson, 197, Iowa State
2003 - Eric Larkin, 149, Arizona State
2004 - Emmett Willson, 197, Montana State University - Northern
2005 - Steve Mocco, 285, Oklahoma State
2006 - Ben Askren, 174, Missouri
2007 - Ben Askren, 174, Missouri