Who Gets the Hodge?

[Perry 1,175]

At first I thought this would be an easy pick for Logan Stieber, but then I was reminded of how dominant Dieringer was this season. His bonus percentage ended up being higher than Logan's overall, but was one pin shy of the Bear's fall count. Do you think they give it to Logan taking his 4x titles into consideration? I imagine this will be the case.

Also interesting to note, on the Hodge voting it has Stieber's official record listed as 119-3. Looks like his true freshman season wasn't counted afterall...

[scribe 1,655]

It would be criminal to not give this to Steiber.

[jerbufoon 40]

if its based on fall count, GWIZ should win

[RetiredPoster 87]

Come on...As scribe stated, "It would be criminal to not give this to Steiber."

[LoStNuMbEr 320]

I have to imagine they give it to Stieber... He certainly deserves it for the career, and he hasn't won one yet

[headshuck 2,166]

If Gwiz had twice as many falls it would be criminal not to give it to him.  It's the Hodge not a lifetime achievement award.

[hammerlockthree 1,961]

what about strength of schedule.....

[headshuck 2,166]

Yep, that factors in.   For 4/5) Gwiz DID beat a 2-time former champion for his first title (Nelson).

 

1. Record

2. Number of pins

3. Dominance

4. Past credentials

5. Quality of competition

6. Sportsmanship/citizenship

7. Heart

 

GWiz can earn his Hodge next year I guess.  Just playing devil's advocate.

Edited March 24, 2015 by headshuck

[silver-medal 670]

Let's talk about true dominance:  Pins or Techs.

Gwiz:  15 out of 35 matches

Imart: 16 out of 35

Dieringer:  15 out of 33

Stieber:  18 out of 29

 

We know Stieber will win it.  But here's why--he should.  

[fadzaev2 317]

I vote for Stieber, hands down!

[oldsuper 46]

Will Stieber's scare against Dardanes hurt his chances of winning?

[RealAmericanHero 92]

Are there any division 2 or 3 wrestlers worth mentioning? Joey Davis comes to mind.

[Witherman 355]

how is this even a conversation lol

[VakAttack 2,600]

When Joey Davis wins next year over Dieringer.....

[silver-medal 670]

Are there any division 2 or 3 wrestlers worth mentioning? Joey Davis comes to mind.

I can't stand that one publication actually has him in their pound for pound top ten.  When he starts taking on top tier D1 kids and enters major events, we can discuss if he belongs.  And I'm an NDC fan.  

[treep2000 901]

Agreed regarding joey davis. Slim wins over DII guys vs. Going up against kokesh, storley, Evans, brown, etc... No proof that he should be in the same conversation until matches, and wins, of the calibre occur

[PRyan2012 343]

Dieringer is the best wrestler in college. But Stieber should win it. LIke Varner was the best wrestler in college and Ness won it. But this is not like the Ness/Varner debacle. even though Stieber is not the best wrestler in college I did vote for him to win the hodge.  

[oldsuper 46]

Silver-medal,

 

 

I'm curious as to why you only consider pins and techs for "true dominance". Not every wrestler goes for the pin or tech whenever they step on the mat. In some cases, wrestlers are even coached against finishing the match too quickly. In some cases coaches want their wrestlers to go "a hard seven" and get them to work some of their techniques that they drilled in practice.

 

This "true dominance" criteria is very interesting to me. Would you say that Logan Stieber was more "truly dominant" than Yojiro Uetake or Gray Simons. Uetake was undefeated in college and won the Olympic Gold after his sophomore year. Gray Simmons lost twice at the very beginning of his freshman year (within the first 8 matches I believe) then went undefeated as a sophomore, junior, and senior. Simmons made the Olympic team while in college too. These guys didn't put up bonus points the way Stieber did, but they didn't lose the way Stieber did either.

[Vertical 4]

I am glad PRyan mentioned Varner and Ness.  That year, too, I thought Jake was the most dominate wrestler and should be a high Hodge candidate.  I thought too, that perhaps a career would be given consideration.  Looking back it was

Jayson Ness, Senior Year 31-0 with 19 falls.  NCAA Champ

Career:  4X All-American; 5,2,3,1  148-15

Jake Varner, Senior Year 31-0 with 10 falls to go with 10 Majors and 1 Tech.  Outscored NCAA opponents 42-6

Career:  4X All-American; 2,2,1,1 121-10

 

The above are just numbers, but I did think Jake Varner would and should have won the Hodge after his senior year.  Opinions, like feet and a$$holes we all have them and most of them stink.

 

This year I thought Dieringer had the best results on paper.  I believe Martinez was the most explosive and fun to watch.  But how can you not award the Hodge to only the 4th 4X timer in History?

Edited March 25, 2015 by Vertical

[headshuck 2,166]

It was explained that both were good candidates but Ness had almost twice as many falls - the second criteria.

 

If Steiber had a loss this year, would some of you still give him the Hodge for his amazing career achievement?

[PRyan2012 343]

I would not have voted for Stieber if he had a loss. However I voted for a one loss Metcalf. Gavin simply won to many 3-2 matches for me. Ness and Varner were very different. It was very evident that Varner was superior in every way especially competition level except for pins. I voted for Varner over Ness for one main reason-the biggest stage and superior past accomplishments. Varner's NCAA tourney was TF, Pin, TF, MD, comfortable 5-2 dec in finals. Ness was Pin, MD, Dec, 1-0 OT and 6-4 miracle comeback in finals. He should have lost his last two matches where Varner dominated tougher guys all the way through-hell he even tech falled next years NCAA champ Cam Simaz. Very perplexing to me still on what the voters were thinking but we are all different. Varner goes on to be Olympic champ and Ness can't crack the top 5 on the US world team. Stieber is maybe the 3rd-5th best college wrestler but I already voted for him because of the 4 timer thing-he deserves it.

Edited March 25, 2015 by PRyan2012

[BigTimeFan 953]

It would be criminal to not give this to Steiber.

A felony!

[jammen 304]

I am glad PRyan mentioned Varner and Ness.  That year, too, I thought Jake was the most dominate wrestler and should be a high Hodge candidate.  I thought too, that perhaps a career would be given consideration.  Looking back it was

Jayson Ness, Senior Year 31-0 with 19 falls.  NCAA Champ

Career:  4X All-American; 5,2,3,1  148-15

Jake Varner, Senior Year 31-0 with 10 falls to go with 10 Majors and 1 Tech.  Outscored NCAA opponents 42-6

Career:  4X All-American; 2,2,1,1 121-10

 

The above are just numbers, but I did think Jake Varner would and should have won the Hodge after his senior year.  Opinions, like feet and a$$holes we all have them and most of them stink.

 

This year I thought Dieringer had the best results on paper.  I believe Martinez was the most explosive and fun to watch.  But how can you not award the Hodge to only the 4th 4X timer in History?

 

 

You left out Jason Ness 73 career falls.

[Vertical 4]

Jammen,

True, I left out Ness's career falls, but I also left out Varner's 42 falls.  As PRyan pointed out about the differences, a 5-2 win for Varner usually wasn't even that close.  Maybe 2 TD's and an escape for Jake and two E's for opponent.  Ness, if he did not pin you (and yes, he did it a lot) might beat you in OT or squeak one out to avoid the extra time. 

I am not trying to take anything away from a 4X All-American with 73 falls.  I just piggy-backed on PR's comments of Ness and Varner (the same two guys that I thought about when I voted).

Alex Dieringer had the most bonus point wins.

Isaiah Martinez was the most exciting to watch I think he scored over 40 offensive points in his NCAA Title Run.

Logan Stieber has FOUR NCAA Titles.  That in itself swayed me.

[Doc_Hfuhruhurr 67]

     We talk most NCAA titles, and dominance.  Ok..... 2005 winner of the Hodge, was 2 time champ, Steven Mocco.  He had fair amount of pins, but he also had (I believe) THREE overtime wins, including finals match.  To me, an overtime win, is a whisker away from a loss. That same year, Greg Jones won his third NCAA title, and was pretty dominant, outscoring his opponents 298-82 that year, with no overtime matches, and ending with a 51 match win streak.

   The Hodge Award is very arbitrary for WIN.