Lee Wins Hodge Trophy

Spencer Lee is passing his time by reading books, and trying to get in as much conditioning work as possible.

Lee's wrestling plans for the year have been put on hold in the wake of cancellations around the world because of the concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus.

On Monday, the Iowa junior won the WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy, given to the nation’s most dominant college wrestler.

Lee was going for his third consecutive NCAA championship, and was preparing to go to the U.S. Olympic trials, when all of those events were canceled.

The Hodge Trophy, Lee said during a teleconference, was "a silver lining."

Lee, undefeated this season at 125 pounds, received 52 of a possible 57 first-place votes.

Lee went undefeated this season and would have been the top seed at the NCAA championships earlier this month before everything was canceled. The Hawkeyes were undefeated and ranked No. 1 nationally, and were the favorites to win the team title.

"It's disappointing," Lee said. "We all knew this was a big year because it was the next one. Right?"

Lee said the biggest disappointment for him was for his senior teammates.

"They wanted team rings," Lee said. "That was the hardest thing for me, to look at them and know that it was pretty unlikely they were going to get team rings. It was disappointing, but everyone found a way to move on and found some positivity in things."

Lee outscored his opponents, 234-18, this season. He scored bonus points in 17 of 18 wins, recorded four first-period falls and nine technical falls, and averaged five team points per match.

Lee was 18-0 overall, won his first Big Ten title, and was named the conference's wrestler of the year.

Only four of Lee's 18 matches went the entire seven minutes. All five of his January matches were by technical fall, and he outscored those five opponents, 84-1.

“This is a unique Hodge Trophy because of the lopsided point differential. When you talk about 234 points to 18, that has got to be unprecedented,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “When you look at a guy who can dominate by taking you down and letting you up and taking you down; that is one thing. But to get on top of a guy and score 17 straight points in 2 1/2 minutes, that is a whole different animal and tell-tale of dominance. Give Spencer Lee full credit.”

Lee is the third Hawkeye in program history to win the award since its inception in 1995. Mark Ironside was honored in 1998, and Brent Metcalf earned the award in 2008.

"There are ways to distance yourself from the pack," Lee said when asked about the historical significance of the award. "I think that’s pretty special to be named the Hodge Trophy winner.

"It’s what we’ve got right now. We would have liked to have won more. But you take what you can get."

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