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2017-18 ECWC Individual Awards


Wrestler of the Year: Ben Brisman (So.) | Ithaca | 141 LB
Rookie of the Year: Kaidon Winters (Fr.) | RIT | 157 LB
Coach of the Year: Marty Nichols | Ithaca


The Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference announced its annual award winners for the 2017-18 season on Wednesday afternoon, releasing the results of voting from the conference's head coaches and athletic communications personnel for three awards in the Wrestler of teh Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year. Ithaca College brought home two of the three honors, as sophomore Ben Brisman was the unanimous pick for Wrestler of the Year, while head coach Marty Nichols added another Coach of the Year award to his impressive haul from last month's championships in Cleveland, Ohio. RIT took home the other honor, as freshman standout Kaidon Winters was tabbed the conference's Rookie of the Year for 2017-18. 

Wrestler of the Year
25632Ben Brisman, Ithaca’s talented sophomore had a remarkable second collegiate season, which culminated in an Individual National Championship at 141-Pounds in Cleveland, Ohio. Brisman finished the year with an overall record of 37-5, while he finished with a 15-1 mark in dual meet competition. Of his 37 victories nearly half came with bonus points, as he registered eight falls, three technical falls and five major decisions to go along with 18 decisions. He finished as the 141-Pound Champion at the 2018 ECWC Championships, helping the Bombers capture a team title for a fifth consecutive season. He punched his ticket to the National Championships in Cleveland with a 141-Pound Runner-Up finish at the 2018 Mideast Regionals held at Ithaca’s Athletics & Events Center. Seeded seventh in the 141-Pound bracket at national’s he scored victories over the Top-2 seeds during his 4-0 run to the title, besting top-seed Brett Kaliner of Stevens 10-7 in the 141-Pound Final. Brisman is the first IC wrestler to win an individual title since Ricardo Gomez ’13 did so in 2013. Overall, he is the 12th grappler in program history to win an individual championship.

Brisman continued the run of four straight ECWC Wrestlers of the Year to be crowned as National Champions. Cortland's two-time 157-Pound National Champion, Bobby Dierna, was the pick in both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Prior to that, Cortland's 197-Pound title winner Joe Giaramita was the pick during the 2014-15 season.
 
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Rookie of the Year
26542Winters was RIT’s first freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2006-07. Winters tied a single-season program record with 42 wins, going 42-10 overall at 157 lbs. He was 16-1 in dual matches and broke three-time NCAA Champion Matt Hamill’s single-season record with 22 wins by fall. He narrowly missed earning All-American status at the NCAA Championships, defeating the No. 7 wrestler in the nation in his opening match. Winters qualified for the national championship, after earning runner-up honors at the NCAA Mideast Regional. He is a five-time Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Rookie of the Week and two-time RIT Male Athlete of the Week. Winters was also runner-up in his weight class at both the RIT Invitational and ECWC Championship.




 
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Coach of the Year
12116Marty Nichols had a season to remember in 2017-18, leading Ithaca to its highest finish at the NCAA Championships during his 22-year tenure at the helm of the program. The Bombers posted 79.0 points at the year-end tournament, finishing in Third-Place out of 67 teams that qualified a wrestler to the event. Overall, the Bombers posted a 14-2 mark in dual meets, highlighted by a Third-Place finish at NWCA National Duals that was the program’s highest-ever finish at the event. He also led Ithaca to a Third-Place finish at the New York State Intercollegiate Championships that was also a best for the program. On the strength of four individual champions, Ithaca captured its fifth consecutive ECWC Team Championship during the year as well. Nichols was named 2018 Mideast Region Coach of the Year, while he went on to be named the Theraworx NWCA Coach of the Year, chosen from among the six Regional Coach of the Year honorees. Five Bombers went on to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Tournament, which included one Individual Champion and one Runner-Up, as well as Third-, Fifth- and Seventh-Place finishers. Nichols also added a final award when he was named NCAA Championships Coach of the Year.



 
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