April
17, 2007: The Wrestling Mall, High School News
Dave Schultz High School Excellence
Winners Announced
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame &
Museum in Stillwater, Okla. has announced its 2007 state
winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.
This annual award is bestowed upon high school seniors who
demonstrate excellence in wrestling, scholastic
achievement, character, citizenship, and community
service.
Among the winners selected from the 48
states that sponsor high school wrestling championships is
the first female wrestler ever to win the Dave Schultz
Award, Randolyn “Hoku” Nohara from Kamehameha School in
Honolulu, Hawaii. Nohara recently won her fourth
consecutive Hawaii State Wrestling Championship in the
220-pound girls division. A world-class power lifter, she
also set 12 world records in the bench press and dead
lift. She will attend the University of Hawaii next fall
on a softball scholarship.
“I know that I have been given some
ability and I try to honor that by working as hard as I
can to make the most of it,” Nohara said. “It is a great
honor to be the first female to win this award.”
The award, named in honor of Olympic and
World Champion Dave Schultz, has recognized 482 wrestlers
since its inception in 1996.
“A graduate of Palo Alto High School and
the University of Oklahoma, Dave Schultz was one of the
greatest and most well-liked high school, collegiate, and
international wrestlers the United States has ever had,”
said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National
Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Regarded as a tireless competitor and
supreme tactician on the mat, he was beloved throughout
the world of amateur wrestling for his friendliness and
eagerness to lend help or advice to teammates and
opponents alike. Schultz was inducted into the sport’s
Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1997.
This year the National Wrestling Hall of
Fame & Museum will expand its Dave Schultz High School
Excellence program to include a Leadership Camp for those
individuals selected for the award.
“Thanks to a grant from a private
foundation, we are pleased to expand this program and
provide the winners of our Dave Schultz Award with the
opportunity to attend an all-expense-paid Leadership Camp
at the United States Olympic Training Center from June
18-21, in Colorado Springs, Colo.,” Smith said.
The camp will be hosted and organized at
the Olympic Training Center by USA Wrestling (USAW), the
sport’s governing body.
“USA Wrestling is equally excited to join
the Hall of Fame in fulfilling the requirements of this
program by providing a World Class program at the Olympic
Training Center for the student-athletes chosen to
participate in this camp,” said Rich Bender, USAW
Executive Director. “The camp agenda will include
instructional sessions with our freestyle and Greco Roman
national coaches and wrestlers, and will also feature
presentations on sport psychology, strength and
conditioning, nutrition, leadership development, and
public speaking presented by experts in the field.”
Part of the foundation’s funding criteria
requires that, after the camp, the award winners speak to
at-risk youth in their communities on the benefits of
participating in extra curricular activities like
athletics.
Smith said the leadership and public
speaking sessions will help the student-athletes prepare
to fulfill this responsibility. “These student-wrestlers
are role models in their communities and have an
opportunity to influence young people in a very meaningful
way. Statistics show that both male and female students
are more likely to stay in school, graduate, and become
more productive citizens when they are involved in extra
curricular activities and after school programs like
sports, art, debate and music.”
Five regional winners will be selected
from the 48 state winners on April 23, and from that
group, one individual will be selected as the national
winner. The national winner will be invited to Honors
Weekend, June 1-2, in Stillwater, Okla. to receive the
award.
Following are the 2007 winners and their
high school, listed by state:
(excerpt only)
Utah / Shay Warren / Weber High School
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