The championships have all been won and all of the awards except the Hodge Trophy have been handed out. Its time for the second annual View from Section GG college wrestling awards.

The Ron Santo “Heart on Your Sleeve Award”

The longtime Cubs radio announcer (and “should be” Hall of Fame third baseman) has long been known for his emotional eruptions during his broadcasts. We present a Santo award to former Hawkeye wrestler, Mark Ironside, who is the color commentator...

The most popular three days in American amateur wrestling starts Thursday in Saint Louis – the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. All other college divisions have crowned their champions like one long series of opening acts for the headliner.

WCWA Oklahoma City University
NCWA The Apprentice School
NJCAA Iowa Central Community College
NAIA Lindenwood University
NCAA DIII Wartburg College
NCAA DII University of Nebraska-Omaha
...

What a weekend! Arguably, it was the biggest weekend of the year for college wrestling. It was qualifying weekend for NCAA Division I schools and the NCAA Division III and the NAIA held their national championships. Thousands of college wrestlers were on the mat vying for a trip to St Louis for the Division I Championships or competing for All-American status.

Media coverage of the week was exceptional. I am a minor contributor to the fledgling College Wrestling Network, a consortium...

Twas the night before nationals (Division III) and all through the Marriott…

I held my second annual Division III Championships reception today. Fans from St Johns, The College of New Jersey, Coe and Cornell showed up. I got to see the team from UW La Crosse and I introduced myself to MIT heavyweight Glenn Geesman and his coach, Tom Layte. We also had a few local Hawkeye fans in attendance. Attendance was down from last year and I’m hoping that is not any indication of how the weekend...

They’re almost here – the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships begin this Friday in Cedar Rapids. Almost inevitably, at some point in the tournament, some wrestler is going to fight off his back and win a match. Great comebacks are a part of any sport, but there’s something about a competitor fighting through adversity on the mat that is particularly inspiring. In my days as a Hawkeye fan I’ve been luck enough to witness some great comebacks – Lincoln McIlravy over Gerry Abbas and Terry Steiner...