2006 Pac-10 Wrestling Honors
Boise State’s Cherrington, Sherfey Win Wrestler/Freshman of the Year Honors, ASU’s Ortiz wins Coach of the Year
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — BOISE STATE senior Ben Cherrington was named Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year, Arizona State head coach Thom Ortiz earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors and Tyler Sherfey of Boise State was named Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.
Cherrington, a 157-pound senior from Granby, Colo., was selected by Pac-10 head coaches as the Wrestler of the Year after he won the 2006 NCAA title at 157 pounds and finished the season with a perfect 20-0 record. Cherrington won two Pac-10 titles, competed in four consecutive NCAA National Tournaments, and compiled a 93-32 overall record for the Broncos. The NCAA victory marked Boise State’s second NCAA individual title, and coach Greg Randall’s first national champion as the Broncos’ head coach. Cherrington earns his first Wrestler of the Year award, and the first for the Boise State wrestling program.
Thom Ortiz earns his third Coach of the Year honor, and the 15th in Arizona State’s history. In just his fifth season at the helm, Ortiz led the Sun Devils to their second consecutive Pac-10 title, and a perfect 8-0 mark in Conference dual meets. Under Ortiz’s tutelage, three Sun Devil wrestlers won individual Pac-10 championships, Patrick Pitsch at 165 pounds, Ryan Bader at 197 pounds and Cain Velasquez at heavyweight. The Sun Devils not only finished sixth in the nation after being selected to finish 14th in the tournament, but also won the program’s 16th Conference crown and second in a row. Four Sun Devils earned All-America honors- Brian Stith (157), C.B. Dollaway (184), Bader, and Velasquez. The team’s Top-6 finish was its second under Coach Ortiz, and marked the 19th time that ASU has garnered a Top-10 finish in the 40-year history of the Tournament. Ortiz, a graduate of Arizona State in 1990, was a two-time All-American and was a member of the 1988 NCAA Championship Sun Devil team.
Sherfey, a 149-pound redshirt freshman from Kennewick, Wash., becomes the second consecutive Freshman/Newcomer of the year from Boise State. Sherfey earned an invitation to the NCAA Championship by finishing second in the Pac-10 at 149 pounds, and helped the Broncos to a third-place Conference finish. Unseeded at the NCAA Championship, Sherfey won his first bout but lost the next two to finish his season. Boise State finished 24th overall at the NCAA’s.
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
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, Boise State
2000 Mike Young, Boise State
2001 Lee Roy Smith, ASU
2002 Mike Young, Boise State
2003 Thom Ortiz, ASU
2004 Steve Buddie, STAN
2005 Thom Ortiz, ASU
2006 Thom Ortiz, ASU
PAC-10 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
2000 TJ Hill, CS Fullerton
2001 Jed Pennell, OSU
2002 Matt Gentry, Stanford
2003 Ryan Halsey, Cal Poly
2004 Darrell Vasquez, Cal Poly
2005 Andrew Hochstrasser, Boise State
2006 Tyler Sherfey, Boise State
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