The Big Ten Medal of Honor was established in 1914, when the conference endowed an award to honor a student in the graduating class of each university that demonstrated proficiency in scholarship and athletics. The Medal of Honor was expanded in 1982 to include a senior female athlete from each institution. It is the highest award bestowed on a student-athlete in the Big Ten Conference.
Ness (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS) capped off an impressive collegiate career by posting a perfect 31-0 record in 2009-10 and capturing his first national championship at 133 pounds. A four-time All-American, Ness tallied a career record of 148-15 with 73 falls and won Big Ten titles at 125 pounds as a redshirt freshman in 2006-07 and at 133 points as a senior. He also recorded a second-place finish at both the Big Ten tournament and the national tournament as a sophomore.
Academically, Ness was named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I All-Academic Team twice during his career along with a pair of Academic All-Big Ten honors. He also earned the Golden Gopher Academic Award for the 2008-2009 season.
“The beauty of Jayson Ness is that as a third grader he decided he wanted to be a Gopher. He dreamed about it for years, and he ended up being able to live his dream,” Minnesota head wrestling coach J Robinson said. “Jayson is a young man that comes in and does everything he’s supposed to do. He does it the right way. He takes care of school, he takes care of his social life and at the same time he is an incredibly hard worker and just a great human being.”
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