(Manheim, PA) Three Sun Devils have earned National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-America honors, the NWCA announced today. Sun Devil Wrestling’s Daniel Miranda, Nicco Ruiz and Cohlton Schultz earned the recognition. The NWCA’s individual list included 336 total wrestlers from 77 institutions.
NWCA Release
Schultz adds to a long list of accolades as a Sun Devil and it’s his third straight year being named an NWCA Scholar All-American honor. The five-time All-American recently finished his Sun Devil career with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships last month and became the first Sun Devil to become a five-time All-American. His All-American honors also extended head coach Zeke Jones‘ streak of having at least one All-American or more in each season since 2017.
Ruiz made his first appearance at the NCAA Championships in his first full season in the starting lineup and earned his first NWCA Scholar All-American honor. The redshirt freshman Ruiz notched his first career win at the national tournament Thursday evening, majoring No. 31 Cody Goebel (Wisconsin), 16-3. He had a sixth-place finish in the 165-lb weight class at Big 12 championships and led the team in tech-fall victories with four.
Miranda earns his first NWCA Scholar All-America Honor and represented the Sun Devils in the 141 weight class at the Big 12 Championships. The Tucson native enjoyed a stretch of three wins in four bouts at the Journeyman Collegaite Classic in November and is a member of Barrett, The Honors College at ASU.
Head coach Zeke Jones has compiled a long list of All-Americans and accolades in his tenure at the helm of Sun Devil Wrestling. Notability earning six conference championships, five top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships and 34 All-American honors since 2015. The Sun Devil alum has coached three individual national champions in his time in Tempe and has had three wrestlers be national runner ups at NCAAs, helping the team secure back-to-back team trophies in 2021 and 2022.
NWCA Scholar All-Americans are recognized based on four tiers: an All-American with a 3.00 grade-point average, a national qualifier with a 3.2 GPA, a conference tournament participant with a 3.5 GPA and a wrestler with at least 15 matches and a 60 percent win record with a 3.5 GPA.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Zach Wargo
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