NWMA names annual awards; InterMat, History of College Wrestling among notable award winners
Auburn Hills, MI
By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling/Themat.com
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.
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