Jason Tsirtsis defeated Josh Kindig in the NCAA finals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)In a year where a number of freshmen made their presence known in their first official year of college competition, Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis has been selected as the 2014 InterMat Freshman of the Year, the amateur wrestling website announced on Tuesday.
The award, presented each year since 2006 to the best college freshman in all divisions, is based on the balloting of writers and executives at InterMatWrestle.com.
2014 InterMat Freshman of the Year
1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
Total Votes/(First-Place Votes)
1. Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern 76 (5)
2. J'den Cox, Missouri 70 (3)
3. Zain Retherford, Penn State 48
4. Gabe Dean, Cornell 31 (1)
5. Haley Augello, King 10 (1)
6. Adam Coon, Michigan 8
7. Joey Dance, Virginia Tech 3
T8. Cory Clark, Iowa 1
T8. Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin 1
T8. Riley Lefever, Wabash 1
T8. Mitch Minotti, Lehigh 1
Tsirtsis, crowned the 149-pound champ at the 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, received five first-place votes -- exactly half of the total first-place votes -- for a total of 76 votes. In second place was 197-pound titlewinner J'den Cox of Missouri, who earned a total of 70 votes, including three first-place ballots. Penn State's Zain Retherford, who placed fifth at 141, came in third with 48 votes, despite not getting any first-place votes. Two other wrestlers each got one first-place vote: Cornell's Gabe Dean earned fourth place in the balloting with 31 votes ... while Haley Augello of King University's women's program received 10 votes to place fifth overall.
1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
Total Votes/(First-Place Votes)
1. Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern 76 (5)
2. J'den Cox, Missouri 70 (3)
3. Zain Retherford, Penn State 48
4. Gabe Dean, Cornell 31 (1)
5. Haley Augello, King 10 (1)
6. Adam Coon, Michigan 8
7. Joey Dance, Virginia Tech 3
T8. Cory Clark, Iowa 1
T8. Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin 1
T8. Riley Lefever, Wabash 1
T8. Mitch Minotti, Lehigh 1
Not enough can be said about the level of talent within the 2014 freshman class. An immediate indicator: four freshmen earned at least one first-place vote in this year's InterMat balloting. (By contrast, only two wrestlers, Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer, and Cornell's Nahshon Garrett, garnered first-place ballots in 2013.) If that weren't not enough, consider that freshmen grabbed two of the 10 individual 2014 NCAA Division I titles ... earned 12 out of the 80 All-American honors ... and two rookies, Zain Retherford and Gabe Dean, each handed the only loss of the season to the otherwise perfect records of three-time NCAA champions Logan Stieber and Ed Ruth, respectively.
So what set Jason Tsirtsis apart from an incredibly talented cohort of freshmen?
A native of Crown Point, Ind., Tsirtsis compiled an overall record of 32-3 during the 2013-14 season. He entered the championship season by claiming the 2014 Big Ten conference title at 149 ... then was seeded fifth at the 2014 NCAAs. After earning first-day decisions over unseeded wrestlers Bryce Busler (Bloomsburg) and James English (Penn State), Tsirtsis topped No. 4 seed (and 2013 NCAA 141-pound champ) Kendric Maple of Oklahoma in the quarterfinals, then followed up by defeating top-seeded Drake Houdashelt of Missouri in the semifinals to advance to the finals. There Tsirtsis got a 3-1 win over Oklahoma State's Josh Kindig, becoming Northwestern's first NCAA champ since Jake Herbert won his second title at the 2009 NCAAs.
Freshman of the Year Winners
2014: Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern
2013: Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State
2012: Logan Stieber, Ohio State
2011: David Taylor, Penn State
2010: Kyle Dake, Cornell
2009: Andrew Howe, Wisconsin
2008: Mike Grey, Cornell
2007: Jake Varner, Iowa State
2006: Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota
"Jason Tsirtsis came into the season possessing all the ingredients needed to make a championship run as a freshman," according to InterMat senior editor Andrew Hipps. "In addition to his physical gifts, Jason has an extraordinary wrestling mind and is a true student of the sport. He has risen to the top at every level of wrestling, which has given him the confidence to win as a freshman, and competed on big stages throughout his entire life, which has given him the poise to handle high-pressure situations. Many freshmen hope to be NCAA champions. Jason expected to be an NCAA champion as a freshman. Jason also has a strong support system and coaches that help him get the most out of his ability."
2014: Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern
2013: Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State
2012: Logan Stieber, Ohio State
2011: David Taylor, Penn State
2010: Kyle Dake, Cornell
2009: Andrew Howe, Wisconsin
2008: Mike Grey, Cornell
2007: Jake Varner, Iowa State
2006: Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota
On Friday, Penn State's David Taylor was named 2014 InterMat Wrestler of the Year. This week, InterMat will announce its Coach of the Year.
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