Dave Schultz Award Winners for the Southeast

STILLWATER, Okla. - The National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Wednesday announced the state and regional winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (DSHSEA).

The DSHSEA was established in 1996 to honor Olympic and World champion Dave Schultz, whose career was cut short when he was murdered in January 1996. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1997 and as a member of the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.

The DSHSEA recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior male wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service.

The Hall of Fame announced the state and regional winners of the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award (TSHSEA) on Tuesday. The TSHSEA recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior female wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service.

Regional winners for both awards are selected from state winners, and the national winners will be chosen from the regional winners.

The national winner of the DSHSEA will be announced on May 25 while the national winner of the TSHSEA will be announced on May 24. The national winners will be honored during the 45th Annual Honors Weekend at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum on June 3 and 4 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For information on Honors Weekend, visit https://bit.ly/3KAFjWw or telephone (405) 377-5243.

“We are excited to recognize another worthy group of young men as recipients of our Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Lee Roy Smith. “This group of student-athletes represents the qualities necessary for success in sports, academics and life and we look forward to seeing what they accomplish.”

The state winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.

The Hall of Fame accepts nominations for its high school excellence awards from state chapters and coaches. The nominations are reviewed by a committee, which selects state and regional winners. The committee then determines the national winners from the regional winners.

National winners of the DSHSEA award have combined to win 19 NCAA Division I individual titles led by four-time champion Logan Stieber (2010), three-time winner Zain Retherford (2013) and two-time winners Steven Mocco (2001), David Taylor (2009), Teyon Ware (2002) and Zahid Valencia (2015).

2022 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award Regional Winners

Southeast Region: Cory Land of Moody, Alabama, is a four-time Alabama state high school champion for Moody High School. The son of Eric Land and Kaylea Williams, he was also an Alabama state champion as an eighth grader and finished his high school career with a perfect 203-0 career record. Land was named Outstanding Wrestler at the state tournament as a junior and holds the school record for single-season and career records for wins and pins. He is the first wrestler from Alabama to compete in the Cadet Greco-Roman World Championships, finishing fifth in 2019 and capturing a silver medal in 2021. He was a Moody High School Bryant-Jordan Achievement Award nominee and received the Ironclad Wrestling Organization Coaches Award. Land read to elementary school students on Read Across America Day and volunteered at the elementary school’s Thanksgiving Feast and at October Fest. A Beta Club officer and member of the Moody High School Student Leadership Team, he was co-editor of the Moody High School yearbook and served as an ambassador at the Moody Middle School groundbreaking. Land has a GPA of 3.86 and has signed a letter of intent to wrestle at the University of Northern Iowa.

For the purpose of this award we are happy to recognize those winners from the Southeast from states that are not traditionally covered by SEWrestle.

Southeast (11) - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia

Alabama - Cory Land, Moody High School, Moody, University of Northern Iowa
Florida - Tom Crook, Jesuit High School, Tampa, Virginia Tech
Georgia - Matthew Singleton, Woodward Academy, College Park, North Carolina State
Kentucky - Stephen Little, Union County High School, Sturgis, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Louisiana - Glenn Price, Archbishop Shaw High School, Marrero, University of New Orleans
Mississippi - Jimmy Harpole, South Pontotoc High School, Pontotoc, United States Marine Corps
North Carolina - Kyle Montaperto, Central Academy of Technology and Arts, Marvin, University of Virginia
South Carolina - David Hunsberger, James F. Byrnes High School, Lyman, Lander University
Tennessee - Ashton Davis, Cleveland High School, Lookout Mountain, University of Wyoming
Virginia - Adonis Lattimore, Landstown High School, Quinton, United States Naval Academy
West Virginia - Derek Raike, Point Pleasant High School, Point Pleasant, Ohio University