Lee Named Finalist For Hodge Trophy

Iowa 125-pounder is one of eight wrestlers under consideration.

Iowa's Spencer Lee is one of eight wrestlers as finalists for the WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, given annually to the nation's top college wrestler.

Fan voting for the award runs from March 23-27. The winner is announced March 30.

Lee would have been the top seed at 125 at this year's NCAA championships. The tournament was canceled because of concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus. Lee was going for his third consecutive national championship.

Lee was 18-0 this season, winning the 125-pound title at the Big Ten championships on his way to being the conference's wrestler of the year. He outscored his opponents 234-18  this season. He scored bonus points in 17 of his wins wins, had four first-period falls and nine technical falls, and averaged five team points per match.

Only four of his matches went the entire seven minutes. Lee was 5-0 in January, all technical falls. He outscored those opponents 84-1.

Lee is one of eight finalists for an award that considers seven factors — record, number of pins, dominance, past credentials, quality of competition, sportsmanship/citizenship, and heart. The winner is determine by fan vote and the Hodge Trophy Voting Committee.

Other finalists include West Virginia sophomore Noah Adams (197), Northwestern junior Ryan Deakin (157), Princeton sophomore Pat Glory (125), Stanford freshman Shane Griffith (165), Ohio State senior Kollin Moore (197), Minnesota sophomore Gable Steveson (285) and Cornell senior Charles Tucker (133).