David Taylor (Photo/Bill Ennis)The 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis are only eight weeks away, which means excitement and talk about which wrestlers are earning what for the end-of-the-year awards. Here is a look at the candidates for 2012 InterMat Wrestler of the Year, an award voted on by InterMat writers and executives.
Dark-Horse Candidates
Ed Ruth (Penn State, 174)
He may get overshadowed by No. 1-ranked Nittany Lion teammates Frank Molinaro and David Taylor, but he has put up impressive numbers this season. The sophomore is 17-0 and has yet to meet a serious challenge. He recently won his second straight Southern Scuffle title, where he went 6-0 with three pins, a technical fall, and a major decision. Left in his way: Nick Amuchastegui of Stanford, who beat him at last year's NCAA tournament.
Zach Sanders (Minnesota, 125)
The three-time All-American is winning now, but can he make the push through a difficult NCAA tournament? If he beats Matt McDonough and finishes as an undefeated NCAA champion, he could slide himself into the voting.
Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State, 285)
Big Z has already shown he's not afraid to lateral drop a fool. As of Jan. 13 he's sitting behind Ryan Flores of American in the heavyweight rankings, but a run at NCAAs could also land the Russian in the final voting, especially if he beats defending NCAA champion Zack Rey of Lehigh.
Top Contenders
Kendric Maple (Oklahoma, 141)
To borrow a quote from the movie Zoolander, "(Kendric) so hot right now. (Kendric)."
You may not have heard of him before this season, but by know you should be familiar with Kendric Maple of Oklahoma. The redshirt sophomore is exciting fans with his aggressiveness and ability to turn a sure two-point takedown, into a probable five-point move. He's the only undefeated wrestler at 141 pounds, and has been crushing his competition; currently 16-0 and ranked No. 1 at 141 pounds. Of his 16 wins, eight have come by major decision, three by technical fall, and two by pin. Most notably he won the Midlands Championships with a victory over NCAA runner-up and two-time All-American Montell Marion of Iowa.
Despite the objective dominance, the most attractive aspect of Maple is his ability to score in bunches and give fans the type of action they pay to see. The comparisons to 2009 NCAA champion Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State are easy; both finish shots with dominance and defend with creativity. Should Maple run the table and earn his first NCAA title, he'll also be a lead candidate for InterMat's Wrestler of the Year.
Frank Molinaro (Penn State, 149)
There was a moment in Molinaro's Nov. 20 match versus Minnesota's Dylan Ness where it seemed he might be in trouble. After Molinaro built a 6-0 lead (with a guaranteed riding-time point) heading into the third period, the funk-master Ness put together a late surge to make it interesting before Molinaro closed out a 16-10 victory. He later won the rematch in the Southern Scuffle finals by major decision, 8-0.
Frank The Tank's takedowns are consistent. His top game scores points, and he seems to have worked on bottom in the offseason. Overall, the New Jersey native's game is tight. Where he gets hurt in consideration as 2012 InterMat Wrestler of the Year is his lack of dramatic opposition; a ying to his yang. Were he able to bump up in weight and rematch and defeat Cornell's Kyle Dake, a revenge that might tip the subjective scales in his favor, he'd be in higher contention with some of his fellow teammates. However, with nobody outside of Oklahoma State's Jamal Parks challenging him for more than a period, Molinaro seems to be a long shot for end-of-the-year hardware (Apologies to Air Force's Cole Von Ohlen, who is having a great year and who owns the second-best name in college wrestling behind Cashe Quiroga of Purdue.)
I guess there is at least one scenario in which Molinaro could earn Wrestler of the Year. Tied 1-1 in the NCAA finals and having given up thirty seconds of riding time, Frank The Tank once again chooses bottom ...
And escapes.
Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro, 197)
Chris Honeycutt has become the bigger, badder version of his 2011 self, adding 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason on top of his already impressive physique. So far this season he's won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and a Midlands title, rattled off 25 wins and as of yet hasn't been in any one, two or three-point matches. He's simply been dominant.
Why not Cornell's top-ranked Cam Simaz? Mostly because he didn't compete in the finals of the Body Bar Invitational or Southern Scuffle, presumably due to injury. That lack of finishing power hurts his overall accolades and raises at least some suspicion about durability heading into the NCAA tournament. Should he meet a healthy and happy Tim Flynn-coached Honeycutt on Day 3 on the NCAA tournament, one can imagine the outcome.
Kyle Dake (Cornell, 157)
Kid Dynamite! The baby-faced grappler for Cornell would make NCAA history this season if he's able to win an NCAA title at 157 pounds, as it will be the first time a wrestler has won the national title in consecutive seasons at progressively higher weight classes.
Perhaps nobody, ever, has been better than Dake? It's too early to tell, and unlike Cael Sanderson, The Kid has taken a few regular season losses in his career (not this season), but what separates the New York native is where he's been collecting his trophies. Sanderson and Pat Smith each won their four titles at the upper weight classes, where there it's typically less scoring and fewer fresh faces to challenge a returning champ, whereas the lower weights are more transient and lend to new bodies every season. Dake has been blowing up those more competitive low and middleweights, which have typically been the domain of the country's most talented stars.
The Cornell junior's season is littered with pins and technical falls. His closest match was against Penn State's Dylan Alton, a 3-0 decision in the finals of the Southern Scuffle, where Dake was never challenged. Kid Dynamite is the best athlete in the sport, showcasing incomparable balance and strength, even if he has a gas tank that draws the ire of some fans. He could be on pace to be the best-ever, a consideration when it comes time to cast ballots.
Oh, and he's also pretty good on top.
David Taylor (Penn State, 165)
The Chosen One. Wrestling's Tom Brady. Cael 2.0. Who else could possibly sit atop the list?
David Taylor is without question the most dominant wrestler of the 2011-2012 college wrestling season. He's won 12 of his 15 matches by pin or technical fall, two by major decision, and one by decision. He's aggressive on top, fluid on his feet and unshakable on bottom. Nobody else in the sport has shown as much talent or determination as the Nittany Lion sophomore.
Save a cradle in the NCAA finals, Taylor was arguably the most talented and dominant wrestler in the country last season. The lanky-armed Ohio native has moved up a weight class for this season's campaign, but has retained his undersized Gumby-like appeal.
As with the Heisman, some of the InterMat Wrestler of the Year is rewarded for the intangible qualities a wrestler possess. Though Taylor is part of one of college wrestling's most-talented three-weight runs (David Taylor-Ed Ruth-Quentin Wright), it's been Taylor's handling of the pressure that has seemed to inspire his teammates -- no doubt aided by the wisdom of head coach Cael Sanderson. Taylor is just better than his competition and for now, and for the next two seasons, seems to be growing increasingly difficult to catch.
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