Varner misses out on the Hodge

[GoCubsGo]

It goes to Ness. Obviously disappointing - I was hoping that Ness' near-disaster against Dennis in the finals would push Jake over the top for this. However, Ness' pin numbers are pretty impressive.

College wrestling: Minnesota champ tops Cyclone, Hawkeye for Hodge Trophy | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register

 

[Clones85']

Probably the right call

 

[1100011CS]

Hard to argue with the pin numbers. Do I dare say I wish Dennis would have won?

 

[GoCubsGo]

One of the elements for the award is past credentials. There is no question that Jake should have won in that category with finishes of 2nd-2nd-1st-1st. Ness' finishes were 5th-2nd-3rd-1st. Obviously this is only one element though.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Hard to argue with the pin numbers. Do I dare say I wish Dennis would have won?

Haha - I'm not sure I'd go that far! Ness seems like a great kid.

 

[2forISU]

Pins shouldn't be the only factor.

 

[ca4cy]

I wanted Jake to win it but it's hard to argue with Ness. I had thought getting pushed as hard as he was in the semis and finals might hurt Ness a little with Jake pretty much walking through the tournament, but Ness is a great wrestler. If it wasn't Jake, I'm glad it was him.

 

[EYE4CY]

These comments sort of shocked me a little bit. When I heard Ness got it I figured everyone on here would be going crazy and cursing everything possible. Very glad people are showing good sportsmanship! Ness is one heck of a wrestler and deserved the award.

 

[joefrog]

Varner had a fantastic career at ISU, we sure will miss him and his leadership. IS he one of the greatest ever? Has to at least be in the conversation,at least at the upper weights.

 

[1100011CS]

Varner had a fantastic career at ISU, we sure will miss him and his leadership. IS he one of the greatest ever? Has to at least be in the conversation,at least at the upper weights.

Absolutely. 4 time finalist, 2 time champ, undefeated senior year.:notworthy:

 

[ca4cy]

Varner had a fantastic career at ISU, we sure will miss him and his leadership. IS he one of the greatest ever? Has to at least be in the conversation,at least at the upper weights.

He's one of 14 wrestlers ever to be a 4x NCAA finalist and if Cael hadn't set the bar so high with his offense few people would have ever questioned Varner. He may not have been the most dynamic wrestler offensively but he was a stud from day one and is probably one of the top 5-7 Cyclones ever on the college level only. Add in what he has already done, and most likely will do on the freestyle circuit and he's an all-timer, no doubt about it.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Jake was really, really close to 3 NCAA championships. I can't remember what happended exactly, but wasn't it a matter of a few seconds' riding time that cost him his sophmore season? Jake only lost three matches during his last three years of competition.

 

[cy1010]

I'm a big Varner fan, but I'm pretty sure "character" is a factor in the vote. I'm not saying he has bad character, but it opens the door for voters to turn it into a popularity contest.

Varner rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. It's kind of hard to dislike Ness. Although, that fact kinda makes me dislike him...haha

 

[CYKOFAN]

I'm not going to say Varner got screwed (maybe hosed if there's a difference). Considering Varner had a better career than Ness and was more dominant throughout the tournament, including the championship, I'd have given it to Varner. Anybody know how many Clones have won 3 national titles? That's about what it would take to outdo what Jake did as a Cyclone (except for the great one of course).

 

[cy1010]

I'm not going to say Varner got screwed (maybe hosed if there's a difference). Considering Varner had a better career than Ness and was more dominant throughout the tournament, including the championship, I'd have given it to Varner. Anybody know how many Clones have won 3 national titles? That's about what it would take to outdo what Jake did as a Cyclone (except for the great one of course).

Nate Carr, Larry Hayes, and Cael. Gable obviously came really close to 3.

 

[ca4cy]

I'm not going to say Varner got screwed (maybe hosed if there's a difference). Considering Varner had a better career than Ness and was more dominant throughout the tournament, including the championship, I'd have given it to Varner. Anybody know how many Clones have won 3 national titles? That's about what it would take to outdo what Jake did as a Cyclone (except for the great one of course).

The three 3 timers I can think of are Larry Hayes, Nate Carr, and Cael Sanderson. Hayes could only get 3 due to freshman not being eligible when he wrestled. Carr was "only" a 3x AA compared to Jake's 4 finals appearances. Chris Taylor had only one tie on his record as a 2x natl champ.

There was a thread on another board about this a couple of weeks ago. I think Varner is safely in the top 10 Cylones of all time but it's about impossible to rank them beyond Cael and Gable. We've had some legends go through the program.

 

[loki8838]

This should have been settled on the mat. Varner versus Ness in a standard match. Winner gets the Hodge.

In all seriousness, both are studs and both were well deserving of the award.

I remember watching Ness pin his way through the state tournament in 2005 at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul. In the semifinals he pinned Jake Deitchler of Anoka. Deitchler would go on to be the third american in history to wrestle in the Olympics straight out of high school. The last I heard, Deitchler will be wrestling for the Gophers next season.

 

[isuno1fan]

Varner got screwed...plain and simple

 

[Cyclone62]

Varner got screwed...plain and simple

I said it before, but Ness was the only one that could even rival Varner, and it was going to be a close going. It was a good give, IMO, even though I think Varner edges him handily in the past year category.

 

[unoimahawk]

I know they say past results are a criteria but whoever chooses doesn't do a good job following the criteria or else there would be no way Metcalf could of won it his first year of wrestling. It would almost always have to be a senior if they followed that. I think they usually have their mind made up after they look at 1.record 2.number of pins and 3.dominance. Not taking anything away from Varner b/c he is good but if you look at this year alone Ness would clearly wins those 3.