Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Holds Annual Banquet, Hands Out Team Awards
5/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
May 12, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In a banquet held last weekend, Northwestern's coaches handed out the team's annual awards. Sophomore Brandon Precin paced the Wildcats in takedowns and falls. Dustin Fox scored the most team points for the Wildcats en route to his NCAA heavyweight title.
With 10 pins, Precin collected the Jack Riley Fall Trophy. The sophomore, who finished seventh in the nation at 125 lbs., also earned the Lupton Takedown Award for the most takedowns.
The Stuteville High Point Award went to Fox, who was just behind eventual Hodge Trophy Winner Brent Metcalf of Iowa in team points scored in the Big Ten and NCAA Championships, took home the award which is essentially the teams Most Valuable Wrestler.
Redshirt freshman Keith Sulzer took home the team's Best Newcomer Award. Sulzer finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships in his first season as a starter for the Wildcats at 141 lbs.
"Anytime that you have an NCAA Champion, your program is among the elite in the nation," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "The goal for our program is to continue to put pressure on the rest of the country. We have established a winning tradition and it is our job to sustain our journey to the top. In the last three years, we've had 9 All-Americans, 19 NCAA Qualifiers and 4 NCAA Finalists. Few people understand the dedication it takes to compete at this level and our guys have done well."
Northwestern also said goodbye to its senior class -- arguably the most successful class in the program's history. Below are a list of their accomplishments.
• Ryan Lang -- Two-time NCAA All-American, NCAA Finalist, Big Ten Champion, Midlands Champion.
• Nick Hayes -- Three-time NCAA Qualifier, Two-time Academic All-American, Three-time Academic All-Big Ten.
• Dustin Fox -- NCAA Champion, Two-time All-American, Big Ten Champion, Midlands Champion.
• Mike Tamillow -- NCAA All-American, Big Ten Champion, Midlands Champion, Academic All-American.
• Adil Kolovic -- Academic All-Big Ten.
