McCoy wins college wrestling's Heisman

Kerry McCoy added to his already impressive list of wrestling honors on Friday by winning the Dan Hodge Award, the equivalent to football's Heisman Trophy.

The Hodge Award, given annually to the top collegiate wrestler in the country by Wrestling Institute Magazine, capped off an impressive season for the fifth-year senior from Middle Island, N.Y. McCoy won his second NCAA heavyweight title on March 22 to finish off a perfect 41-0 campaign and was named the recipient of the Hodge Award six days later.

"He's a great spokesman for the sport," Penn State wrestling coach John Fritz said. "He's humble. He enjoys talking to people. He goes about his business."

McCoy went about his business all season, focusing his attention on winning his second national crown after capturing his first during the 1994 season. In 1995 he lost in the national semifinals, and in 1996 he redshirted to pursue Olympic gold.

However, 1997 was McCoy's year. He used his sculpted 235-pound frame and flawless technique to overwhelm opponents en route to winning his third Big Ten crown and another NCAA title.

"When I stepped in a Penn State uniform for the first time I had my mind set I was going to win more than one national title," McCoy said. "I didn't know how I was going to do it."

McCoy did it through hard work and an I-will-not-lose attitude. He won 131 of his final 132 collegiate matches and, though he didn't win the outstanding wrestler award at NCAAs, he won the Hodge Award over such competition as Iowa's Lincoln McIlravy and Mark Ironside, Oklahoma State's Mark Branch and Lock Haven's Cary Kolat.

"He's a great person for the sport," Fritz said. "I think he is the greatest heavyweight ever."