Links

Camps & Clinics

Campbellsville Wrestling Announces 2007-08 Awards

4-28-08

Campbellsville, KY. – Campbellsville University head wrestling coach Franky James handed out awards during the team’s annual awards banquet Saturday evening. The day started with the Big Maroon Club Golf tournament at the Campbellsville Country Club and concluded with the awards dinner in the E. Bruce Heilman Student Center.

After dinner and a glimpse of the years highlight video, a series of recognition announcements were made. Dennis Paiva, Jim Nichols and Andy Bricker received recognition awards for service to CU wrestling. The NWCA NAIA All Academic team and individuals were recognized.

The first award of the night was a coach’s appreciation award that went to MarcAntoni Macias for his commitment to CU wrestling.

Phillip Oudhuis was named the Redshirt Freshmen of the year after working very hard behind the scenes this year and preparing to have an impact next year.

The recipient of the Most Improved Wrestler Award, presented to the wrestler who made steady improvements over the course of the 2007-08 season, was red shirt freshman Josh mason. Mason worked through adversity in the first semester and earned the Varsity spot in the spring. He placed 4th in the East Region at 149 pounds to earn his first trip to the National Tournament.

Coach James also handed out awards to the 5 NAIA Daktronics Academic All-Americans. Campbellsville led the nation with five wrestlers earning this honor. Jairus Murton, Kyle Norred, Kaci Payne, Josh Deadrick and Chris Branam have all reached Junior or Senior status with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.

True freshman George Sheppard had an outstanding year and was the recipient of the Freshman of the Year Award. George placed 2nd at Ohio Northern, 5th at the Midwest Classic, 3rd at EdSouth, 2nd in the East Region after knocking off the National Champion in the Regional Semifinal, and finished the year by placing 7th at the National Tournament, posting a 28-10 record.

The Tigers top award winners this year were Glen Jackson, George Sheppard, Kaci Payne  and Kyle Norred. Junior 3x All-American Glen Jackson (Chesapeake, VA.) was named the 2007-08 Most Valuable Wrestler. Glen is a 3x All-American and finished the year with the most team points scored and an overall record of 21-17. Freshman All-American George Sheppard (Newport News, VA), claimed the 2007-08 Outstanding Wrestler Award. George was truly outstanding in his true freshman year.  George was a 2008 All-American, the East Region Runner-Up, 3rd at the EdSouth and 5th at Midwest Classic.  

The final award was given to Seniors Kyle Norred (Kennesaw, GA) and Kaci Payne (Pulaski, VA) They both received the Commitment to Excellence award. The award is given to the wrestler who best combines Academic and Athletic accomplishment. Kyle and Kaci are both 3x NWCA NAIA All-Academic team members and 2x Daktronics NAIA Scholar Athletes.  Kyle is also a 3x East Region placer and became CU’s all time career wins leader this year. Kaci became the first 4x National Qualifier for CU wrestling.

The Tigers just completed the 4th season for the newly formed program. In the first 4 years, Campbellsville University has had 13 All-Americans, 1 National Champion, 8 Academic All-Americans and finished in the top 5 of the NWCA NAIA All Academic team standings each year, including a National Runner-Up finish in 2007. The Tigers will return 3x All-American Glen Jackson, National Champion Zach Flake, National Finalist and 3x All-American David Clemens, All-Americans George Sheppard and Jacob Murton for the 2008-09 campaign.