History of Collegiate Wrestling,
Finn, Byers, McDonough, Nolan and InterMat are honored
March 16, 2007
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The National Wrestling Media Association, the
national professional organization for wrestling journalists, has named
the recipients of its Annual Wrestling Journalist Awards. The NWMA has
honored the top wrestling journalists in the following categories:
Broadcaster of the Year, Print Journalist of the Year, Photographer of
the Year, Publicist/SID of the Year, Publication of the Year and Web
Page of the Year. Candidates were nominated by the NWMA members.
Wrestling Publication of the Year –
History of Collegiate Wrestling, by Jarius K. Hammond
This year, the NWMA selects a book for its publication of the year, a
first for the organization. History of Collegiate Wrestling, written by
historian Jarius K. Hammond and published by the National Wrestling
Hall of Fame, is a comprehensive history of college wrestling in
America, going back to its roots a century ago. There is a chapter on
the foundation years of the sport (1903-1927), before there was an
official NCAA Championships tournament. For the years 1928 – 2005,
Hammond provides a narrative chapter for every season. A team of
contributing writers added numerous feature stories to the book’s text,
helping bring to life the personalities that make college wrestling
history so interesting. It is considered the authoritative text on this
subject, and is also an interesting read. Hammond won the 2006 Bob
Dellinger Award, given by Amateur Wrestling News to the journalist of
the year. His journalism background has been focused on documenting the
history of the sport. He has researched and recorded the entire bout
history of Lehigh Univ. wrestling, his alma mater. His website (www.wrestlingstats.com) has
the results of every NCAA Div. I tournament, EIWA tournament, as well
as Big Ten, Big 12 and World and Olympic placewinners. He also serves
as a historical consultant for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, as
well as the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Hammond works as an
independent database applications developer, and previously worked as
an investment researcher. He currently serves as the President of the
National Wrestling Media Association.
Wrestling Print Journalist of the Year
– Mike Finn, W.I.N. Magazine
Finn has served as editor of W.I.N. Magazine, a respected national
wrestling newspaper, for almost four years. W.I.N. received the NWMA
Publication of the Year award in 2006. The publication is published 12
times a year, with an average page count between 80-85 pages, and as
many as 100 pages for some issues. Under Finn’s editorial leadership,
W.I.N. has expanded its coverage of all levels of the sport, with a
number of special issues on some of the major events during the
wrestling season. Finn’s goal is to “put a focus on what is right about
wrestling at a time when the sport is endangered by college cutbacks
and indifference. If the assets of wrestling can be publicized, the
sport will grow again.” W.I.N. Magazine is in its 13th year of
existence, serving the wrestling community with excellence. Finn spent
15 years as the editor of Voice of the Hawkeyes, an independent
magazine that covered the Univ. of Iowa athletics, including extensive
wrestling coverage. He co-authored the book “Hawkeye Legends, Lists and
Lore.” His favorite sport to cover was wrestling, and he began
attending the NCAA Div. I National Championships in 1987. Finn is a
native of Waterloo, Iowa, a town that is legendary for producing
wrestling athletes and leaders. He was a youth wrestler, and competed
for the Columbus High School wrestling team.
Wrestling Photographer of the Year –
Jeff Nolan of Connecticut
Nolan is among the many talented wrestling photographers who have a
passion for shooting images of the athletes in the sport in a way that
makes the sport more exciting. A former wrestler, Nolan has been a
wrestling photographer for over 20 years. He has been a photographer
for the Lehigh Univ. wrestling program for many years. Among the major
wrestling events he has photographed are the Olympic Games, World
Championships, World Cup, Goodwill Games, U.S. Nationals, NCAA
Championships, College Conferences (EIWA, Big Ten), Midlands
Championships, Sunkist Kids International, New York AC Holiday
Championships, National Prep Championships, various state high school
championships and many local events. His photos have appeared in the
New York Times, NCAASports.com, Amateur Wrestling News, W.I.N.
Magazine, USA Wrestler, Lehigh Wrestling News, the Morning Call and a
variety of Lehigh University publications. He provided the cover
photograph of Cael Sanderson of Iowa State wrestling John Trenge of
Lehigh for book, The History of College Wrestling. His website is www.thematmedia.com. Nolan was
a youth wrestler in Connecticut, then competed for Brookfield High
School, winning the league and district championships, becoming team
captain and earning all-state honors. What he has appreciated the most
during his photography career “are not necessarily the historic moments
but more often the small, thoughtful gestures from people like Bruce
Baumgartner, who took the time to write a note of thanks for photos
from the Barcelona Olympics."
Wrestling SID/Publicist of the Year –
Colin McDonough, Univ. of Northern Iowa
McDonough is the Associate Media Relations Director and wrestling
contact at the University of Northern Iowa, a Division I school located
in Cedar Falls, Iowa. As the primary wrestling contact at UNI, he
writes weekly press releases, match summaries and handles media
requests for the Panther wrestling program. McDonough served as the
media relations director of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in 2006
and 2007, an event in which UNI has hosted the past two years and will
host in both 2008 and 2009 in the UNI-Dome. McDonough is also the Media
Relations Director of the newly-formed Western Wrestling Conference,
which schools include: UNI, Air Force, North Dakota State, Northern
Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State and Wyoming. He is in
his second year at UNI after spending the previous six years at
the University of Northern Colorado (Greeley, Colo.) where he served as
the Bears' wrestling contact. McDonough is a native of Osceola, Iowa
and a 1998 graduate of Northwest Missouri State with a bachelor's of
science in journalism.
Wrestling Broadcaster of the Year –
Jeff Byers, Penn State Radio
Byers has been an commentator for Penn State wrestling radio broadcasts
since 1990. A Penn State graduate with a degree in Broadcast/Cable
Communications in 1992, Byers has covered Penn State wrestling and
softball, as well as high school wrestling, football, basketball and
softball. He has worked in many radio positions in State College over
the years, including stints a sports director, morning show host and
other roles. He was a sports producer for a year for KDKA radio in
Pittsburgh for about a year before returning to State College. All
throughout this career, he has remained the voice of Penn State
wrestling, bringing insightful and colorful coverage to one of the
nation’s most respected college wrestling programs. A resident of State
College, he works as a sales representative and writer for
fightonstate.com and Fight On State magazine, and handles sales and
marketing for Taxi by Handy Delivery. He also remains active in local
radio, filling in as a talk show host and sports reporter. Since he was
young, Byers has had a tremendous respect for wrestlers, including
their sacrifice and commitment. “I don’t think of any other sport as
physically and mentally demanding. It has really been an honor to cover
this program and try to help promote the very deserving coaches and
athletes that have represented Penn State wrestling. I don’t think I
could enjoy any job more than I enjoy broadcasting Penn State
wrestling.”
Wrestling Web Site of the Year –
InterMat (www.intermatwrestle.com)
InterMat is the official media website of the National Wrestling
Coaches Association, and has been a leading source for daily wrestling
coverage for many years. InterMat is maintained by web master and lead
writer Jason Bryant, and has been a leader in promotion and coverage of
amateur wrestling on the internet. Bryant has served in this position
for two years. Founded in 1995, InterMat has increased its coverage and
has been the official source for live text results from the NCAA Div. I
Wrestling Championships since 2005. It provides coverage of the top
high school and college wrestling events and is the official source of
the USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Division I Coaches Poll and the
InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Div. I Individual Rankings. InterMat also has a
respected Premium Service, with expanded coverage of the sport on a
subscription basis. InterMat previously won the Web Site of the Year
from the NWMA in 2001. “It’s something we take pride in, providing the
wrestling community with rankings, results and a variety of features
and stories that serve not only the promotion of the sport as a major
sport, but to the fans that follow it,” said Bryant about receiving
this award.
The National Wrestling Media Association is the professional
organization for wrestling journalists nationwide, and has served the
wrestling community since 1988. The organization represents hundreds of
reporters, editors, photographers, broadcasters, webmasters and Sports
Information Directors with a shared involvement in wrestling.
Membership in the NWMA costs just $20 a year. The current president of
the NWMA is historian Jay Hammond of Florida.