The Hodge trophy was just awarded to Oklahoma State’s heavyweight wrestler. Wyatt Hendrickson wrestles for Oklahoma State as a 285 lb wrestler. This year, he went 27-0 while winning the NCAA Division 1 tournament at heavyweight. He pulled off one of the biggest upsets of wrestling history by defeating a gold medalist in Gable Steveson. He beat Gable with a 5-4 decision.
The Hodge Trophy was named after Dan Hodge, a three-time NCAA champion for the University of Oklahoma. Some refer to Dan Hodge as one of the greatest college wrestlers ever. The Hodge Trophy is awarded every year to the best wrestler in America. It was created by Mike Chapman, Founder of WIN magazine.
The Hodge is awarded to people based on a certain criteria. The first thing that it’s based on is the wrestler’s record for the season. Secondly, it’s also based on Dominance on the mat/ Bonus-point percentage. Also, it is based off of the wrestlers quality of competition throughout the season. Lastly, the committee takes the wrestlers’ sportsmanship into account when deciding who will win the trophy.
There have only been six multiple-time Hodge Trophy winners. The first person to win more than one is Cael Sanderson. He won the award three times in his run to becoming the first undefeated four-time NCAA champion. The second person was Ben Askren, who won the trophy two times. The next person was David Taylor, who won the award twice. Also, Zain Retherford won the award twice. Spencer Lee was another wrestler who won the award twice. Lastly, Gable Steveson was the only heavyweight to win a Hodge trophy, let alone 2 of them, until this year when Wyatt won the award.
