NCAA Wrestling: Week 3 Awards Standings – Most Dominant Wrestler

DSC_0052 (2) (2)
2013 NCAA National Championship Photo taken by Kyle Carroll

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA has released the third week of standings for the 2016 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.

This week marks the first reveal of where the Most Dominant Wrestler race stands with a minimum of 14 matches in the division required to be ranked.

If anyone is wondering why the Penn State Nittany Lions are ranked No. 1 in the nation, it might have to do a little with the Most Dominate Wrestler ranking. Cael Sanderson’s Nittany Lions have four wrestlers ranked within the top 10 of the Most Dominate Wrestler, and two of them claim the top-two spots.

In Division I, Penn State wrestler redshirt freshman Jason Nolf and teammate Zain Retherford land at one and two. The 157-pounder, Nolf, has an average of 5.14 points this season, while 149-pounder Zain Retherford is close behind with an average of 5.05.

Pittsburgh-Johnstown 184-pounder Travis McKillop leads Division II with an average of 5.27 points, which is well ahead of Mercyhurst’s Francis Mizia in second place with an average of 4.71.

The 2014-15 NCAA Division III Most Dominant Wrestler is well on his way to earning the award for the second year in a row as Wabash 184-pounder Riley Lefever has an average of 5.74 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)

 

Midshipmen 197-pounder Michael Woulfe retains the top spot in falls with 11 falls in Division I, while Nolf sits in second with 10 falls.

McKillop’s lead in the Most Dominant Wrestler standings is reinforced by his Division II-leading 10 falls.

A three-way tie exists in Division III at 14 falls each between Roger Williams 141-pounder Justin Cochran, Williams 184-pounder Christopher Chorzepa and Stevens Institute of Technology 184-pounder AJ Kowal. Cochran holds the tiebreaker with his 14 falls coming in an aggregate time of 27:08.

There is no change in the tech fall standings in Division I as last year’s winner, National Champion, Isaiah Martinez of Illinois, maintains a significant lead with 11 this season at 157 pounds.

The Division II tech fall standings are a family affair at the top where the Mizia brothers of Mercyhurst hold the top two spots. Francis leads the country with seven at 165 pounds, while older brother August is right behind with six tech falls at 174 pounds.

Springfield 149-pounder Zach Joseph maintains his lead in Division III with 10 tech falls, while Ursinus 149-pounder Alex Kramer has totaled nine tech falls this season.

 

NCAA STAT LEADERS – MOST DOMINANT
Division I
Rank Name School Weight Avg. Points
1 Jason Nolf Penn St. 157 5.14
2 Zain Retherford Penn St. 149 5.05
3 Alex Dieringer Oklahoma St. 165 4.75
4 Thomas Gilman Iowa 125 4.75
5 Nick Gwiazdowski North Carolina St. 285 4.73
6 Gabriel Dean Cornell 184 4.57
7 Morgan McIntosh Penn St. 197 4.55
8 Nahshon Garrett Cornell 133 4.43
9 Isaiah Martinez Illinois 157 4.42
10 Bo Nickal Penn St. 174 4.35
Division II
Rank Name School Weight Avg. Points
1 Travis McKillop Pitt.-Johnstown 184 5.27
2 Francis Mizia Mercyhurst 165 4.71
3 Garrett Grey Tiffin 285 4.68
4 Jon Inman Fort Hays St. 184 4.64
5 Paul Wilson Colorado Mines 197 4.33
6 August Mizia Mercyhurst 174 4.14
7 Huston Evans Newberry 184 4.14
8 Ryan Beltz Maryville (MO) 197 4.00
9 Dustin Reed Newman 125 3.87
10 Martin Ramirez Adams St. 133 3.86
Division III
Rank Name School Weight Avg. Points
1 Riley Lefever Wabash 184 5.74
2 Donald Longendyke Augsburg 285 5.56
3 Christoper Chorzepa Williams 184 5.33
4 Josh Thomson Messiah 184 5.31
5 AJ Kowal Stevens 184 5.11
6 Derek Arnold Ursinus 157 4.85
7 Angus Arthur Adrian 197 4.84
8 Ron Tassoni Wash. & Lee 184 4.78
9 Lance Evans Wartburg 285 4.61
10 Nolan Barger Lycoming 165 4.48
NCAA STAT LEADERS – TECH FALLS
Division I
Rank Name School Weight Tech Falls Time
1 Isaiah Martinez Illinois 157 11 50:37
2 Nate Brown Lehigh 184 7 31:36
3 Gabriel Dean Cornell 184 6 35:46
4 Zain Retherford Penn St. 149 6 36:27
5 Jason Nolf Penn St. 157 6 41:18
6 Myles Martin Ohio St. 174 5 26:57
7 Chad Pyke North Carolina St. 157 5 28:01
8 Bo Nickal Penn St. 174 5 28:16
9 Thomas Gilman Iowa 125 5 30:13
10 J`Den Cox Missouri 197 5 32:40
Division II
Rank Name School Weight Tech Falls Time
1 Francis Mizia Mercyhurst 165 7 25:10
2 August Mizia Mercyhurst 174 6 19:34
3 Dominick Nania Wheeling Jesuit 149 5 16:54
4 Ryan Beltz Maryville (MO) 197 5 24:32
5 Jordan Rinken Upper Iowa 157 5 27:22
6 Joseph Alessandro Seton Hill 141 5 28:44
7 Vincent Turano LIU Post 141 5 35:00
8 Derrick Nelson Coker 133 4 18:43
9 Tyler Reinhart Pitt.-Johnstown 165 4 20:06
10 Joseph Calderone LIU Post 133 4 28:00
Division III
Rank Name School Weight Tech Falls Time
1 Zach Joseph Springfield 149 10 51:36
2 Alex Kramer Ursinus 149 9 27:06
3 Jeff Palmeri Brockport 184 8 38:16
4 Michael Fleck Wilkes 125 8 41:28
5 Zach Bylykbashi Wash. & Lee 133 7 29:35
6 CJ Luth Southern Me. 157 7 31:19
7 Nathan Pike New York University 133 7 38:01
8 Lucas Malmberg Messiah 125 7 38:36
8 Asher Kramer Brockport St. 125 7 38:36
10 Gerard Roman Wartburg 197 6 13:46
NCAA STAT LEADERS – FALLS
Division I
Rank Name School Weight Falls Time
1 Michael Woulfe Navy 197 11 47:42
2 Jason Nolf Penn St. 157 10 35:50
3 Mathew Miller Navy 184 9 28:33
4 Nick Gwiazdowski North Carolina St. 285 8 18:43
5 Zain Retherford Penn St. 149 8 21:43
6 Zach Brunson Illinois 174 8 25:04
7 Evan Henderson North Carolina 149 7 14:25
8 Ian Baker Princeton 197 7 15:05
9 Bo Nickal Penn St. 174 7 17:11
10 Nick Bonaccorsi Pittsburgh 197 7 18:36
Division II
Rank Name School Weight Falls Time
1 Travis McKillop Pitt.-Johnstown 184 10 14:31
2 Tate Barnhardt Mary 133 8 19:35
3 Ronald Wardleigh Western St. 125 8 24:56
4 Nate Rodriguez Maryville (MO) 141 8 32:30
5 Damon Sims Pitt.-Johnstown 285 8 35:20
6 Garrett Grey Tiffin 285 6 9:07
7 Terrance McKinney Chadron St. 149 6 15:46
8 Jeremiah Lutz Emmanuel (GA) 149 6 17:49
9 Andy Welton Mercyhurst 285 6 19:19
10 Evan Link Pitt.-Johnstown 125 6 23:29
Division III
Rank Name School Weight Falls Time
1 Justin Cochran Roger Williams 141 14 27:08
2 Christoper Chorzepa Williams 184 14 29:54
3 AJ Kowal Stevens 184 14 35:17
4 Josh Thomson Messiah 184 13 38:36
5 Adrian Collier Dubuque 149 12 22:42
6 Riley Lefever Wabash 184 12 29:06
7 Anthony Brooks Williams 197 11 18:12
8 Donald Longendyke Augsburg 285 11 20:05
9 Robert Hawkins Wilkes 149 11 25:09
10 Garrett Beaman St. Olaf 174 11 32:51
author avatar
Kyle Carroll
Kyle Carroll is a Long Island, N.Y. native and avid MMA and amateur wrestling fan. He has been a part of the wrestling community for nearly 20 years. Carroll has six years of experience coaching high school wrestling. His father coached high school wrestling over 35 years, passing on his strong knowledge. Carroll has been reporting MMA news since January 2011. The former wrestler’s coverage includes the 2012 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials, 2013 & 2016 NCAA D1 Wrestling Championship, and numerous MMA events (Bellator MMA, King of the Cage, North American Fighting Championship, and Glory).