For taking his team so far so fast, Tom Ryan has been awarded Rev Coach of the Year honors for 2008.
Tom Ryan, who led Ohio State to a runner-up finish at the 2008 NCAA Division I Championships, helps his first Buckeye NCAA champion, J Jaggers, off the mat (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)Ryan received two of the seven first-place votes for a total of 51 votes. Tom Brands of the 2008 NCAA Division I team champions, the University of Iowa, claimed second-place honors with 44 votes (including three first-place votes). Rounding out the top three vote getters was yet another Big Ten head coach, Penn State's Troy Sunderland, who garnered 31 votes (including two first-place votes). Rob Koll of Cornell University placed fourth in the balloting with seventeen votes, while Jim Miller, head coach of the 2008 NCAA Division III team champs Wartburg College, came in fifth with eleven votes.
"The state of Ohio has long been a hotbed for amateur wrestling, as evidenced by being the home state to more 2008 NCAA All-Americans than any other state," according to Mark Palmer, RevWrestling.com staff writer. "Yet, until recently, so much of that mat talent went out-of-state to wrestle in college. Now, thanks to Tom Ryan and his highly respected staff of assistant coaches -- Lou Rosselli, Joe Heskett, Tommy Rowlands, and Ross Thatcher -- the new-found success of Ohio State has generated considerable excitement within Ohio, especially among high school wrestlers who would like to continue their college careers with a successful program closer to home."
Thomas Shaun Ryan, a native of Wantagh, New York, was a two-time Big Ten champ and NCAA All-American wrestler for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1991 and 1992. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Indiana University in 1992. In 1995, Ryan became head coach at Hofstra University, where he led the Pride to six consecutive conference titles, and was named coach of the year seven times.
2008 Rev Coach of the Year
1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
Total Votes/(First-Place Votes)
1. Tom Ryan, Ohio State: 51 (2)
2. Tom Brands, Iowa: 44 (3)
3. Troy Sunderland, PSU: 31 (2)
4. Rob Koll, Cornell: 17
5. Jim Miller, Wartburg: 11
6. Mark Manning, Nebraska: 8
T7. Joe McFarland, Michigan: 3
T7. Cael Sanderson, Iowa State: 3
T7. Chris Bono, UTC: 3
T10. Jim Makovsky, MSU-Mankato: 1
T10. Pat Santoro, Maryland: 1
T10. John Smith, Oklahoma State: 1
T10. Greg Randall, Boise State: 1
In Tom Ryan's first season in Columbus (2006-07), his Buckeyes were 8-7, and placed ninth at the 2007 Big Ten conference championships. This past season, Ohio State amassed a 19-4 record, and came in fifth at the 2008 Big Tens. The 2008 NCAAs were the first time the Buckeyes had ever placed as high as second in the team standings. It was also the first time Ohio State had three finalists; the last time the team had two individual champs was in 1993. Prior to this season, Ohio State's last individual titlist was Tommy Rowlands, in 2004.1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
Total Votes/(First-Place Votes)
1. Tom Ryan, Ohio State: 51 (2)
2. Tom Brands, Iowa: 44 (3)
3. Troy Sunderland, PSU: 31 (2)
4. Rob Koll, Cornell: 17
5. Jim Miller, Wartburg: 11
6. Mark Manning, Nebraska: 8
T7. Joe McFarland, Michigan: 3
T7. Cael Sanderson, Iowa State: 3
T7. Chris Bono, UTC: 3
T10. Jim Makovsky, MSU-Mankato: 1
T10. Pat Santoro, Maryland: 1
T10. John Smith, Oklahoma State: 1
T10. Greg Randall, Boise State: 1
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