Penn State recruits Mark Hall II and Nick Suriano, future Utah Valley wrestler Taylor LaMont, Cavalier recruit Jack Mueller, and Virginia Tech signee Kyle Norstrem are the five regional finalists for the 2016 Dave Schultz award, while Campbellsville recruit Katie Brock, Cumberlands signee Payton Rigert, and future King wrestler Gabby Garcia are among those in the running for the 2016 Tricia Saunders award. Winners will be announced on Thursday, May 5, with awards to be presented at Honors Weekend at the Stillwater Hall of Fame June 3-4.
2016 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award Regional winners
Winner of the West Region, Taylor LaMont of Mapleton, Utah is a four-time state champion, who was 66-0 with 53 pins as a senior for Maple Mountain High School in Spanish Fork, Utah. He was Academic All-State with a 3.97 GPA and a nominee for the Utah Governor High School Male Athlete of the State. He has signed a letter of intent to wrestle for Utah Valley University.
Central Region winner Jack Mueller of Dallas, Texas is a four-time state champion, who was undefeated as a senior at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, Texas. Mueller is a member of the Lead Team at Watermark Community Church, an organization that helped facilitate vacation Bible school for children in inner city Dallas, as well as volunteering with Young Men's Service League, a group that tutors youth, serves meals to the homeless, and assists the elderly. He will be wrestling at the University of Virginia.
Mark Hall of Apple Valley, Minnesota -- winner of the Midwest Region -- is the first six-time state champion, finishing with a career record of 277-4, including 171 consecutive wins. He has a GPA of 3.72 and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and Mary's Place, which offers transitional apartments for homeless families with children. Hall has signed a letter of intent to wrestle at Penn State.
Representing the Northeast Region is Nick Suriano of Paramus, New Jersey, a four-time state champion and only the second wrestler in history to finish his career without a loss, going 159-0 for Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey, where he does volunteer work. Suriano will wrestle at Penn State.
Kyle Norstrem of Valrico, Florida -- chosen to represent the Southeast Region -- is a five-time state champion, with a career record of 287-3-5. He won his first state title after going 41-1 as an eighth grader at Tampa Bay Christian, and captured his next four championships at Brandon High School where he was 246-2. Norstrem has volunteered at fundraisers for the YMCA, and has worked as a volunteer tutor to assist fellow students in mathematics. He has committed to wrestle at Virginia Tech.
2016 Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award nominees
About the awards
The Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award was established in 1996 to honor Olympic and World champion Schultz, whose career was cut short when he was murdered in January 1996. He was inducted as a Distinguished Member into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1997.
First presented in 2014, the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award is named for Saunders, a four-time World champion and women's wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2006, and is also a member of the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The awards recognize and celebrate the nation's most outstanding high school seniors for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service, according to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The state winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.
Nominations for the Dave Schultz award are accepted from the 49 states that sponsor boys' high school championships while nominations for the award named for Tricia Saunders are accepted from the seven states that sponsor an all-female girls' high school championship. Winners are determined by a committee with input from National Wrestling Hall of Fame State Chapters, where applicable. Five regional winners are chosen for the Dave Schultz award from the state award winners; the national winner is selected from those regional winners.
2016 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award State Winners
All-Time National Winners of Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award
1996: David Kjeldgaard, Lewis Central High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa
1997: Jeff Knupp, Walsh Jesuit High School, Akron, Ohio
1998: Garrett Lowney, Freedom High School, Appleton, Wisconsin and Justin Ruiz, Taylorsville High School, Salt Lake City, Utah
1999: Zach Roberson, Blue Valley North West High School, Overland Park, Kansas
2000: Ben Connell, Lugoff-Elgin High School, Lugoff, South Carolina
2001: Steven Mocco, Blair Academy, Blairstown, New Jersey
2002: Teyon Ware, Edmond North High School, Edmond, Oklahoma
2003: C. P. Schlatter, St. Paul Graham High School, Urbana, Ohio
2004: Coleman Scott, Waynesburg High School, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
2005: Troy Nickerson, Chenango Forks High School, Chenango Forks, New York
2006: David Craig, Brandon High School, Brandon, Florida
2007: Zachary Sanders, Wabasha-Kellog High School, Wabasha, Minnesota
2008: Jason Chamberlain, Springville High School, Springville, Utah
2009: David Taylor, Graham High School, St. Paris, Ohio
2010: Logan Steiber, Monroeville High School, Monroeville, Ohio
2011: Morgan McIntosh, Calvary Chapel High School, Santa Ana, California
2012: Taylor Massa, St. Johns High School, St. Johns, Michigan
2013: Zain Retherford, Benton Area High School, Benton, Pennsylvania
2014: Chance Marsteller, Kennard-Dale High School, Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania
2015: Zahid Valencia, St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, California
All-Time National Winners of Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award
2014: Marina Doi, Kingsburg High School, Kingsburg, California
2015: Marizza Birrueta, Grandview High School, Grandview, Washington
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