NCAA wrestling award standings update for the 2022 season

The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2022 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 for the awards they must come against opponents in the same division (i.e. Division II vs. Division II). Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time.

Division I has a near tie at the top of the falls standings with Maryland’s King Sandoval and Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson both at 12 falls. Sandoval holds the top spot with his narrow advantage in aggregate time of just over two minutes. Three more wrestlers have reached the double-figure mark with North Dakota State’s Owen Pentz, South Dakota State’s Tanner Cook and Binghamton’s Anthony Sobotker all at 10 falls.

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Tiffin’s Nicholas Mason leads Division II with 11 falls as he is looking to win this award for the second time in his career after taking the trophy in 2019. Colorado Mesa 165-pounder Augustus Dalton, heavyweight Jacob Robb of Mercyhurst and 125-pounder Evan Carrigan of Newberry are on Mason’s heels with nine falls.

Michael Gonyea of Castleton has raced to the top spot in Division III with 18 falls at 133 pounds this season, while Cornell College 184-pounder Colin Honderd sits in second with 17 falls.

Rutgers 141-pounder Sebastian Rivera has already established a dominant lead in Division I with 11 tech falls this season, including five in a row against Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan. Lock Haven’s Kyle Shoop holds the Division I record since the establishment of the award with 15 tech falls in 2019.

Nebraska-Kearney teammates Austin Eldredge and Matt Malcom lead Division II with nine and eight tech falls each. The Lopers actually hold down three of the top four spots as 141-pounder Nick James is fourth with five, while Brock Biddle of Pittsburgh-Johnstown breaks up the trio in third with seven tech falls.

Johnson & Wales 174-pounder Michael Ross had a dominant start to the season and has already broken the Division III record since the implementation of the awards with 19 tech falls this season, one more than the 18 from Stephen Jarrell of Johnson & Wales in 2017. 

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