Dake captures Hodge Trophy
By Bryan Van Kley, WIN Magazine NEWTON, Iowa — Cornell senior Kyle Dake stepped off the NCAA’s raised championship mat on Saturday night, March 23, and into the history books. He became only the third wrestler in history to win four NCAA titles, but the first to do it at four different weights. To cement his legacy on the sport, he moved up a weight class to 165 pounds to face the best collegiate wrestler in the country from 2012 and his friend David Taylor of Penn State.
He defeated Taylor for the third time this year — in the
NCAA finals — counting an unofficial All-Star meet at the beginning of the season. And now he has added college wrestling’s most prestigious individual honor, the 2013 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, presented by ASICS.
Dake received 41 of 43 first-place votes from the Hodge
Voting Committee. The committee is made up of all former Hodge Trophy winners, national wrestling media, retired college coaches from different regions of the country and a representative from a number of national wrestling organi- zations. Penn State junior Ed Ruth, now a two-time NCAA champ
after his dominant run through the 184-pound class, grabbed the other two first-place votes and finished as the Hodge runner-up in total points as well. When notified of winning the Hodge, Dake’s response showed his elite-level mentality and why he is considered one of the sport’s greatest of all time. “It’s pretty awesome,” he said. “It’s always been in the back of my mind where I’m the most dominant out there. I wanted to be a three-time Hodge winner with Cael (Sanderson). But it didn’t work out. It came across my mind when I lost that dual meet (a January 2011 loss to Binghamton’s Donnie Vinson) that all the other top guys would have to lose for me to win the Hodge. “But the rest of everything turned out pretty good.” Sanderson, the Penn State coach who has led the
Nittany Lions to three straight team titles, is one of only two multiple-time Hodge winners in the 19-year history of the award. He won three Hodges from 2000-02. The other mul- tiple-time winner was Ben Askren of Missouri, winning in 2006 and 2007. Dake’s “pretty good” four-year career started without even a redshirt season. The former two-time state champ from Lansing High School just down the road from the Ivy League, Ithaca, N.Y. campus, started at the 141-pound class and jumped up one weight each year, winning titles each March.
The likely finals bout and rematch with Taylor was so highly anticipated that the NCAA made an unprecedented finals programming decision. The order of the finals was adjusted so the 165-pound match was the final bout and the main event of the night. And it lived up to its billing with Dake winning by a point, 5-4, on riding time. Dake’s dominant senior season included 18 pins in his 37-win campaign. He was unscored upon in his four NCAA tournament matches leading up to the finals.
USA Wrestler 39
“It’s pretty awesome. It’s always been in the back of my mind where I’m the most dominant out there.”
- Kyle Dake Four-time
NCAA champion
3 Wrestling Camps
Camp of Champs® is committed to providing quality instruction from Olympic, World, National and State Champions including John & Ben Peterson, Mike Houck, Kevin Black, Jim Gruenwald and more.
Father/Son Camps: $650 (boys ages 6 & up) 1. June 6-9 2. July 21-24
Westboro, WI Juneau, WI
Adv. Father/Son Camp: $750 (boys grades 6-12) June 8-12
Westboro, WI
All Skills Wrestling Camp: $450 (boys grades 6-12) June 8-12
Champion Camps: $750 (boys grades 11-12) 1. June 16-22 2. July 7-13
Westboro, WI
Juneau, WI Juneau, WI
Personal Technique Camps: (All 3 of these camps are in Juneau, WI) 1. June 23-27 $550 boys gr. 8-12 2. July 7-11 $550 boys gr. 9-12 3. July 21-24 $475 boys gr. 5-8
12-Day Adv. Training Camp: $1,150 (boys grades 9-12) June 16-27
SIGN UP ON LINE Juneau, WI VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO
P.O. Box 222 • Watertown, WI 53094 920/261-8071 • 800/505-5099
info@campofchamps.org •
www.campofchamps.org
John Peterson Olympic Champion
Olympic Champion Director
Ben Peterson
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44