The following is a list of the awards and the recipients:
Mike Chapman Impact Award:
Scott Casber, Takedown Radio/TV
Bob Ferraro, National High School Coaches Association
Dan Gable Coach of the Year:
Mark Manning, University of Nebraska
Junior Hodge Trophy:
Chris Perry, Stillwater (Okla.) High School
Schalles (Pinning) Award:
Josh Patterson, Binghamton University
Junior Schalles (Pinning) Award:
Eloheim Palma, Cary (N.C.) High School
Journalist of the Year:
Tim Johnson, Big Ten Network/ESPN
(Note: WIN had already announced the winner of the Hodge Trophy -- for the nation’s best collegiate wrestler -- in late March, when Jake Herbert of Northwestern was honored.)
The following are biographical sketches of each of the award winners:
Mike Chapman Impact Award -- Named after Mike Chapman, the founder of WIN and current director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
Scott Casber is the founder of Takedown Radio/TV, which is beginning its 13th year of providing wrestling fans an Internet site (TakeDownRadio.com) to follow national events on nearly every level of amateur wrestling, including the NCAA championships, NWCA National Duals and World Team Trials.
Scott CasberIn addition, Scott and his co-host Steve Foster travel all over the country covering in-season college tournaments and dual meets. They will also be introducing a highlight news show format on wrestling this fall on cable and satellite systems.
“The miles that Scott has put on traveling around to broadcast live at wrestling events and practice rooms is staggering,” said WIN publisher Bryan Van Kley. “He deeply loves wrestling and wrestlers and works with every fiber of his being to promote our great sport to the max.”
Scott is a native of Des Moines, Iowa, who fell in love with wrestling when he attended Iowa working on a marketing/promotions degree in the early 1980s and wore the Herky mascot uniform at Hawkeye wrestling matches.
“I could see wrestling up close and personal,” said Casber. “I noticed that these guys were real people, who struggled with real problems, struggled to maintain their identity. They struggled with real issues whether they were self-created or not.”
Bob Ferraro, a native of Easton, Pa., serves as the CEO/Founder of the National High School Coaches Association, which puts on over 100 state, regional and national events in 20 sports, including the NHSCA Senior Nationals in wrestling, which recently held its 20th anniversary of the event. During the past two decades, the event now offers national competition for all four grades of high school.
“I felt we needed the high visibility sports to get wrestling the attention that it needed,” said Ferraro. “I felt that if we could build an organization with more than one sport, we could make a much bigger impact on the sport.”
“What impresses me so much about Bob is his vision for wrestling,” said Van Kley. “He looks at the bigger picture beyond just an event or particular situation. The High School Nationals has turned into a "can't-miss" event which has been a great tool for prospective college wrestlers and the coaches who are recruiting them. All of this is because of Bob's vision for that event and the NHSCA as an organization.”
Ferraro, who finished second nationally at the 1970 NCAAs at 150 pounds for Indiana State and later served as head coach at Bucknell, said he created the NHSCA when he was looking for national competitions for his son, Bobby, who in turn will take over the NHSCA in June 2010, when Bob retires.
“I feel kind of a relief that my vision will be fulfilled and I’m excited about my son’s vision being implemented,” said Bob. “He is a very creative guy and has been with us for about two years now. He is ready to take off with his own vision.”
Dan Gable Coach of the Year -- Named after the legendary University of Iowa coach who won 15 NCAA team championships between 1978 and 1997.
Mark Manning has been a head coach at the Division I level for 12 years, including the past nine at Nebraska, where his Cornhuskers captured their first Big 12 championship — sharing the honor with Iowa State — and finishing fourth at the NCAAs for a second consecutive year.
Manning also saw Jordan Burroughs become the school’s tenth NCAA champion when the junior captured the 157-pound title, while 197-pound Craig Brester (2nd), 174-pound Brandon Brown (4th) and 184-pound Vince Jones (6th) earned All-American honors.
Mark ManningAll of this happened after Manning was forced to dismiss a pair of returning national qualifiers, including 2007 NCAA champion Paul Donahoe at 125 pounds, because of an off-the-mat incident.
Then a week before the Big 12 tournament, Manning and his team had to deal with the death of Thayes Browne, the 49-year-old mother of a pair of Huskers (Brandon and Cameron, a 197-pound sophomore), who died from a heart attack while watching another son at the Nebraska state high school tournament.
Manning said this year’s events made his realized he chose the right profession.
“That’s why you coach; to make an impact on young men’s lives and obviously we had a lot of teaching moments this year; from not only with our young guys but to our veterans who were tested,” said the 45-year-old Manning. “I believe the faith element of our program was really put to the test and came out with flying colors.”
Junior Dan Hodge Trophy -- Named after Dan Hodge, the former three-time University of Oklahoma national champion (1955-57) who never allowed a takedown in his college career. He also pinned 36 of his 46 victims.
Chris Perry is the top-ranked 189-pounder from Stillwater, Okla., where he won four state of Oklahoma high school championships. He also is the brother of Mark Perry, the 2003 Junior Hodge Trophy winner who later earned two NCAA championships at Iowa (2007-08), and the nephew of Oklahoma State coach John Smith, who will coach the younger Perry next year.
“Growing up, even though John Smith is my uncle and Mark Perry is my brother, it’s always been a goal for me to do what they’ve done,” Chris added. “I never look at it as pressure. I look at it as a possible accomplishment for me.”
Chris Perry also captured the Junior Nationals in freestyle last summer in Fargo, N.D., and recently won the Junior FILAs in Las Vegas in April. For his high school career, Chris Perry was 133-1 with 70 falls.
Schalles Award -- Names after Wade Schalles, who set the college pin record at Clarion (Pa.) State where he also won two NCAA championships (1972-73). During his career, Schalles defeated 153 of 159 opponents and pinned 109.
Josh Patterson of Binghamton racked up 22 falls and finished the season 46-6. His 46 wins were also the most of any Division I wrestler. The junior also became Binghamton’s first Division I All-American, finishing seventh at the NCAA Championships at 184 pounds.
“I realized I was going to be able to accomplish my goals at Binghamton,” said Patterson, who also has had two brothers wrestle for the Bearcats. He felt achieving the program’s first All-American honor and winning an award like the Schalles will help Binghamton get other top-level kids.
“I really think it’s going to put us on the map and show kids they can come to a school like Binghamton and become All-Americans,” he said.
Junior Schalles Award
Eloheim Palma of Cary (N.C.) only let one of his 62 victims in an undefeated season go the distance when he settled for a 10-4 decision of the state tournament; netting the heavyweight his fourth state championship.
Eloheim Palma“I don’t feel that I’ve won a match unless I pin someone,” said Palma, who also captured the NHSCA Senior National Championship as the nation’s top-ranked heavyweight and will compete for North Carolina State next fall. “When you pin someone there is no doubt that you beat someone.”
“Everyone will talk about how hard a kid works but this wrestler is special,” said his high school coach Jerry Winterton. “Eloheim outworks everyone in the room. As a heavyweight it is amazing how he'll run sprints, lift weights, do pull-ups and all the extras to better himself.”
Journalist of the Year
Tim Johnson is a native of Morning Sun, Iowa, and current resident of Champaign, Ill., where he serves as the regional director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Champaign.
The former Coe College wrestler and high school wrestling coach also has spent the past 20 years broadcasting college wrestling matches; most recently the past two years for the Big Ten Network and ESPN.
Among his highlights this year was handling the play-by-play for the Iowa-Iowa State dual meet, Dec. 6, which drew a national-record 15,955 fans to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“When do I get the most excited about wrestling?” said Johnson. “It’s when the place is up for grabs. The record crowd was exciting. When you’ve got Dan Gable (as a color commentator) going nuts next to you, it’s always exciting to me. My arm gets a little tired trying to keep him in his seat sometimes.”
Johnson also was part of the ESPN’s broadcast team that carried the quarterfinals, semifinals, placement matches and finals live at this year’s NCAA tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
“I do expect ESPN’s coverage to grow because they are very happy with the interest,” Johnson said. “The producer, John Vassallo, is one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever been around. He is for wrestling and the reason and driving force behind 12 hours of live wrestling on ESPN.”
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