April 2, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
CAL POLY'S CHAD MENDES NAMED WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
BOISE STATE'S GREG RANDALL NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR
BOISE STATE'S KIRK SMITH NAMED FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- CAL POLY senior Chad Mendes has been named Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year, BOISE STATE'S Greg Randall garners Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors and Bronco protégé' Kirk Smith earns Pac-10 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year award, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.
PAC-10 WRESTLER OF THE YEAR - CHAD MENDES, CAL POLY
Mendes, a 141-pound wrestler from Hanford, Calif., will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in Mustang history after becoming the seventh Cal Poly wrestler to reach the NCAA Division I title match and the 39th All-American. His 30-1 record included an undefeated clip of dual matches, the eighth Mustang ever to finish a season unblemished in dual action. His second-place NCAA performance gave Mendes a second All-American recognition of his career. Mendes entered the Pac-10 Tournament as the heavy favorite and did not disappoint, winning the title over Arizona State's Chris Drouin. For his career, Mendes finishes with a 64-14 overall record.
PAC-10 COACH OF THE YEAR - GREG RANDALL, BOISE STATE
Head coach Greg Randall led Boise State to its fourth Pac-10 Championship in the last eight seasons. His team earned 152.5 points at the Conference championship for the third highest point total in Pac-10 wrestling history. The team went 10-2 in dual matches including a 7-1 record in Pac-10 matches. Under the guidance of Randall, Boise State wrestlers captured two Pac-10 Conference titles (133 and 174-pounds), four second place finishes and three third place finishes. At the NCAA National Championships, Randall guided the first true freshman in Boise State history, Kirk Smith, to NCAA All-American honors.
PAC-10 FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR - KIRK SMITH, BOISE STATE
Smith, from Boise, Idaho, became the first true freshman and the first Bronco since 2006 to earn NCAA All-American honors as he captured eighth place at the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He took second place at 184-pounds at the Pac-10 Championships, falling, 9-7, to Brent Chiswell in an extremely close title match. Was also impressive with first place finishes at the Cowboy Open and the Southern Scuffle. For the season he posted a 28-6 record, including one pin-fall and five major decisions.
PAC-10 WRESTLERS OF THE YEAR
1976 Tom Brown, WASH, 158
Greg Gibson, ORE, HWT
1977 Larry Bielenberg, OSU, HWT
1978 Dan Hicks, OSU, 142
1979 Fred Bohna, UCLA, HWT
1980 Howard Harris, OSU, HWT
1981 Marty Ryan, OSU, 150
1982 Bill Nugent, ORE, 142
1983 Gary Bohay, ASU, 126
1984 Jim Baumgardner, OSU, 190
1985 Eddie Urbano, ASU, 150
1986 Adam Cohen, ASU, 150
1987 Mike Davies, ASU, 190
1988 Mike Davies, ASU, 190
1989 Dan St. John, ASU, 158
1990 Dan St. John, ASU, 167
1991 Paul Keysaw, CSUB, 190
1992 Ray Miller, ASU, 158
1993 Ray Miller, ASU, 158
1994 Babak Mohammadi, OSU, 134
1995 Les Gutches, OSU, 177
1996 Les Gutches, OSU, 177
1997 Stephen Neal, CSUB, HWT
1998 Stephen Neal, CSUB, HWT
1999 Stephen Neal, CSUB, HWT
2000 Steve Blackford, ASU, 165
2001 Eric Larkin, ASU, 141
2002 Eric Larkin, ASU, 141
2003 Eric Larkin, ASU, 149
2004 Matt Gentry, STAN , 157
2005 Cain Velasquez, ASU, HWT
2006 Ben Cherrington, BSU, 157
2007 Derek Moore, UCD, 141
2008 Chad Mendes, POLY, 141
PAC-10 COACHES OF THE YEAR
1976 Dale Thomas, OSU
1977 Dale Thomas, OSU
1978 Darren Sipe, WASH
1979 Bobby Douglas, ASU
1980 Ron Finley, ORE
1981 Bobby Douglas, ASU
1982 Ron Finley, ORE
1983 Dale Thomas, OSU
1984 Dale Thomas, OSU
1985 Bobby Douglas, ASU
1986 Bobby Douglas, ASU
1987 Bobby Douglas, ASU
1988 Bobby Douglas, ASU
1989 Bobby Douglas, ASU
1990 Bobby Douglas, ASU
1991 T.J. Kerr, CSUB
1992 Mark Johnson, OSU
1993 Lee Roy Smith, ASU
1994 Joe Wells, OSU
1995 Joe Wells, OSU
1996 T.J. Kerr, CSUB
1997 T.J. Kerr, CSUB
Lee Roy Smith, ASU
1998 Lee Roy Smith, ASU
1999 Mike Young, BSU
2000 Mike Young, BSU
2001 Lee Roy Smith, ASU
2002 Mike Young, BSU
2003 Thom Ortiz, ASU
2004 Steve Buddie, STAN
2005 Thom Ortiz, ASU
2006 Thom Ortiz, ASU
2007 Lennie Zalesky, UCD
2008 Greg Randall, BSU
PAC-10 FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
2000 TJ Hill, CSF
2001 Jed Pennell, OSU
2002 Matt Gentry, STAN
2003 Ryan Halsey, CP
2004 Darrell Vasquez, CO
2005 Andrew Hochstrasser, BSU
2006 Tyler Sherfey, BSU
2007 Zack Giesen, STAN
Brandon Halsey, CSUB
2008 Kirk Smith, BSU
|
|
 |
