Who were top bonus-point scorers through January?

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Updated: February 1, 2022

Photo: Minnesota’s Gable Steveson (left), the 2021 Hodge Trophy co-winner, and Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers have earned bonus points in all of their matches this season.

As the calendar turns to February, it’s time for the sport’s stars to start focusing on winning a national championship, March 19, in Detroit. It is also a good time to see what NCAA Division I wrestlers are still candidates to win the 2022 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, presented by ASICS.

As January ended, there were 21 past All-Americans who were undefeated and considered candidates to win this year’s trophy that will be presented to the nation’s most dominant NCAA Division I wrestler a little over a week following the March 17-19 NCAA Championships in Detroit, Mich.

The Hodge Trophy was created by WIN founder Mike Chapman and named after Oklahoma’s late three-time NCAA champion Dan Hodge (1955-57). The criteria for winning the award, in priority order, will include: a wrestler’s record, number of pins, dominance, past credentials, quality of competition, sportsmanship/citizenship and heart.

Among these current wrestlers, two have scored bonus points in all of their victories. One is Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson, the co-winner of the 2021 Hodge Trophy (with Iowa’s Spencer Lee). The other is Rutgers’ Sebastian Rivera (141), who has recorded 11 technical falls. Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (165) and Arizona State heavyweight Cohlton Schultz are leading candidates in most pins, which is extremely important as voters have always strongly considered the number of falls it being the second criteria. Each have pinned five opponents.

When it comes to choosing this year’s winner, as in the past, all former Hodge Trophy winners get a vote, as does a retired coach from each region and national media members. The official Fan Vote on WIN’s website will then add the final five first-place votes into overall total which designates the winner.

 

Updated Statistical Look at Notable 2022 Hodge Trophy Candidates

The following list shows wrestlers who have earned All-American status before and are currently undefeated as of February 1. The list also includes how many pins (P), technical falls (TF), major decisions (MD) and Forfeits/Defaults (F/Def) each wrestler has through Jan. 30. The final column shows the % of matches in which they’ve scored bonus points.

Name School Year W-L Pins TF MD F/Def Bonus %

125 pounds

Vito Arujau Cornell So. 8-0 1 1 5 0 87.5%
Pat Glory Princeton Jr. 8-0 2 2 1 0 62.5%

133 pounds

Roman Bravo-Young Penn State Jr. 11-0 2 2 2 0 54.5%
Daton Fix Oklahoma State Jr. 12-0 4 1 3 0 66.7%

141 pounds

Nick Lee Penn State Sr. 11-0 1 2 4 0 63.6%
Sebastian Rivera Rutgers Gr. 18-0 2 11 3 2 100%

149 pounds

Yianni Diakomihalis Cornell Jr. 15-0 4 4 2 1 73.3%
Tariq Wilson NC State Sr. 9-0 1 1 1 0 33.3%

157 pounds

David Carr Iowa State So. 14-0 4 4 2 0 75%
Ryan Deakin Northwestern Gr. 8-0 2 1 1 0 50%
Jacori Teemer Arizona State Jr. 13-0 0 2 2 0 30.7%

165 pounds

Evan Wick Cal Poly Sr. 12-0 0 3 4 1 66.7%
Keegan O’Toole Missouri RSFr. 14-0 5 2 5 0 85.7%

174 pounds

Carter Starocci Penn State RSFr 14-0 2 5 3 0 71.4%
Mekhi Lewis Virginia Tech So. 14-0 3 5 2 0 71.4%
Hayden Hidlay NC State Sr. 8-0 0 3 2 0 62.5%

184 pounds

Aaron Brooks Penn State So. 12-0 2 1 5 0 71.4%
Trent Hidlay NC State So. 10-0 3 2 4 0 90%

197 pounds

A.J. Ferrari Oklahoma State RSFr 10-0 2 2 3 0 70%

Heavyweight

Gable Steveson Minnesota Jr. 7-0 0 1 6 0 100%
Cohlton Schultz Arizona State RSFr. 12-0 5 0 3 0 71.4%

 

Source: wrestlestat.com

 

All-Time Hodge Trophy Winners – Hodge Announcement Story/Season Stats

Year Name School
2021 Spencer Lee Iowa
 & Gable Steveson Minnesota
2020 Spencer Lee Iowa
2019 Bo Nickal Penn State
2018 Zain Retherford Penn State
2017 Zain Retherford Penn State
2016 Alex Dieringer Oklahoma State
2015 Logan Stieber Ohio State
2014 David Taylor Penn State
2013 Kyle Dake Cornell U.
2012 David Taylor Penn State
2011 Jordan Burroughs Nebraska
2010 Jayson Ness Minnesota
2009 Jake Herbert Northwestern
2008 Brent Metcalf Iowa
2007 Ben Askren Missouri
2006 Ben Askren Missouri
2005 Steve Mocco Oklahoma State
2004 Emmett Willson Mont. State-Northern
2003 Eric Larkin Arizona State
2002 Cael Sanderson Iowa State
2001 Cael Sanderson Iowa State
& Nick Ackerman Simpson College
2000 Cael Sanderson Iowa State
1999 Stephen Neal CSU Bakersfield
1998 Mark Ironside Iowa
1997 Kerry McCoy Penn State
1996 Les Gutches Oregon State
1995 T.J. Jaworsky North Carolina