Coach Smith has picked up the recognition for the fourth straight season and 13th time in 20 seasons. This year marks the first time a wrestler of the year has been awarded.
2016 Big 12 Wrestler of the Year: Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State, 165 pounds, Sr., Port Washington, Wis.
Dieringer capped off an impressive collegiate campaign with his third straight NCAA National Championship and second straight at 165 pounds. The senior topped Wisconsin's Isaac Jordan in a 6-2 decision in the title match. A couple weeks earlier, the Cowboy picked up his second straight Big 12 title at 165 pounds, triumphing in a hard-fought 4-2 bout with Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman.
The Cowboys' prowess on the mat earned him the 2016 Dan Hodge Trophy, the highest honor in collegiate wrestling. Dieringer completed his senior season with a 33-0 record, recording bonus points in all but six matches. He ended his career on a dominating 82-match win streak that dated back to January of 2014.
The Port Washington, Wisconsin native proved dominant in his career, collecting four All-America honors and four Big 12 titles (two at 157 pounds and two at 165 pounds), along with three NCAA individual titles.
2016 Big 12 Coach of the Year: John Smith, Oklahoma State, 25th Season
Coach Smith helped lead a poised Cowboy squad to a second place finish at the NCAA Championship, along with a landslide team victory at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship in Kansas City. Smith guided OSU to a 12-2 overall record and 6-0 mark against fellow Big 12 opponents.
Led by Dieringer and Dean Heil, the Cowboys claimed seven Big 12 individual titles and qualified 10 wrestlers in NCAA competition, with eight seeded. The aforementioned duo won NCAA individual national titles, with Dieringer taking home the 2016 Dan Hodge Trophy along the way. In total, six Oklahoma State student-athletes earned All-America honors.
In 25 years at the helm in Stillwater, Smith has coaches over 30 national champions and over 115 All-America honorees. The Oklahoma State alum has led his alma mater to four straight Big 12 titles as head coach and boasts a 383-58-6 career mark.
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