Wrestling
University of Michigan senior Mason Parris won the Hodge Trophy, beating out University of Northern Colorado junior Andrew Alirez and the other eight finalists. The award is given to the top wrestler each year.
Parris received 38 of 64 first place votes, including five from winning the fan vote. Alirez finished with four first place votes from the committee and ranked No. 4 in the top five.
The committee selected Parris due to his strength of schedule, which included victories against the other seven All-Americans in the bracket. He went 33-0, finishing third in the bonus point percentage (63.6%) and first in pins (11). Additionally, Parris added three technical falls and seven major decisions.
Alirez (141 pounds) finished with a 28-0 record, but he defeated just four fellow All-Americans with victories over Real Woods (Iowa), Beau Bartlett (Penn State), Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) and Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina).
The Greeley native did not face Brock Hardy (Nebraska), Parker Filius (Purdue) or Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) in the regular season or NCAA Tournament.
He led the Hodge finalists in bonus percentage (71%) and was second in pins (7) and overall wins.
Alirez won the 141-pound national championship, for the first title in UNC's modern era. It previously won titles on the Division II level and before the NCAA officially created the divisional breakdowns and operated on a different format. He won the program's second straight Big 12 Championship, as well, giving Alirez the Big 12 Wrestler of the Year nod.
Carter Starocci (Penn State, 174) and Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell, 149) finished in second and third place, respectively.
In addition to the five ballots from fan voting, the committee is made up of retired coaches, select national media members, former winners, and representatives from national wrestling organizations.
Men's basketball
Senior Dalton Knecht entered the transfer portal last week and has already been approached by a number of Power Five schools, according to reports.
Notably, the Colorado Buffaloes have reportedly reached out to Knecht. The Buffs ended their season in the NIT.
If Knecht were to receive an offer from CU, he would play for coach Tad Boyle. Boyle grew up in Greeley and was UNC's first coach on the Division I level. He received Hall of Fame status from Greeley Central High School and UNC this winter.
Knecht would also be doing the opposite of his outgoing teammate, Daylen Kountz. Kountz notably left CU and joined the Bears.
Sean Paul of Mountain West Wire said CU isn't remotely the only school interested in Knecht. He's allegedly received contact from 17 schools, 16 of which are on the Power Five level. The list includes North Carolina, Kansas, Indiana and Missouri.
Knecht led the Big Sky this season with 20.2 points per game, adding 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Multiple college basketball analysts have said Knecht has the talent to play professionally, some even believing he has the makings of a future NBA player.
"I would like to thank Northern Colorado for having me these last two years and bringing me in," Knecht said last week. "I would like to thank the town of Greeley, fans, coaches and teammates. Thank you Bear Country for always supporting me."
Track and field
The UNC track and field team traveled south this weekend for the Spank Blasing Invitational, hosted by CSU-Pueblo. In its first outdoor meet of the season, the Bears' biggest competition came from the cold temperatures and wind.
They faced athletes from Air Force, Colorado, Colorado State, Wyoming and a number of other regional schools.
Freshmen Isaac Rascon and Dylan Steele finished with the team's best performances, placing second and fourth in the men's 3,000 meter.
Rascon finished on the podium, recording a time of 9:28.94. Steele finished in fourth with a time of 9:48.96.
On the women's side, freshman Chloe Rylance finished sixth in the 3,000. Rylance clocked a time of 10:27.65.
Assistant coach Stormie Sickler said the team completed safely and focused on technical aspects, as opposed to expecting medals. The staff is pleased with what it saw, despite some lower finishes.
"We are very satisfied with the athletes who were able to perform under the weather conditions," Sickler said in a statement. "Transitioning from indoor to outdoor season can be tricky, especially in the early parts of the year in Colorado. It's typically a 'rust buster,' as we call it."
Baseball
UNC (4-16, 2-1 Summit League) secured a series win against South Dakota State (5-14, 1-2 Summit League) on Sunday.
The Bears defeated the Jackrabbits, 9-6, on Sunday afternoon thanks to well-timed hits from their upperclassmen.
Four hitters finished with multi-hit games, while juniors Caden Wagner and Carson Gross contributed three and four hits, respectively.
Sophomore Jake King led the squad with three RBI, though Gross and junior Jackson Meier both pushed two runs across.
The team scored six runs in the second and third innings alone.
UNC's pitching wasn't great, but the defense stepped up. It got the Bears out of several jams, forcing SDSU to leave at least two runners on base in four separate innings.
Wagner, from Parker, earned Summit League Player of the Week for his contributions during the series. He hit .600 in the series, plus going 5-of-8 (.625) in the two wins. The junior scored four runs, added four RBI, three extra base hits and a home run in the series opener.
He reached base in the Bears' five games last week and has a four-game hitting streak.
The Bears continue their schedule with a non-conference matchup at noon Tuesday. They are set to face UC-Colorado Springs on the road.
Notable stats of the game
Jake King: 0 R, 2 H, 3 RBI
Caden Wagner: 2 R, 3 H, 1 RBI, 1 2B
Jake Storey: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
UNC batting: 9 R, 14 H, 8 RBI, 3 2B, 5 BB, 7 K 8 LOB
SDSU batting: 6 R, 12 H, 6 RBI, 4 2B, 1 HR, 8 BB, 1 HBP, 5 K, 12 LOB
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