On the same day the Heisman Trophy was presented to college football’s top player, Spencer Lee was handed wrestling’s equivalent of the award.
Lee, a senior at Iowa and a Franklin Regional alum, was presented in person the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s most dominant college wrestler from the 2019-20 season.
The two-time NCAA champion was named the winner in March but could not receive the award due to covid-19 restrictions. He accepted the Hodge on Tuesday at a news conference in the press box at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium.
“It was an honor to be nominated,” Lee told hawkeyesports.com. “I’m humbled to have won.”
The presentation of the 2020 Dan Hodge Trophy to Spencer Lee! pic.twitter.com/tMAXuDfjd1
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) January 5, 2021
A 125-pounder, Lee went 18-0 during the regular season and outscored his opponents, 234-18. After winning a Big Ten title, he earned the No. 1 seed for the NCAA championships but the event was canceled because of the pandemic.
He also was named the NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
“There is no controversy on who the Hodge Trophy winner was in 2020,” Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands told hawkeyesports.com. “In other years there have been times where somebody feels they were left out. This one was without a doubt.”
Lee also won the AAU James E. Sullivan Award this year as the most outstanding amateur athlete in the nation. He shared the honor with Oregon basketball standout Sabrina Ionescu.
Smile if you are the only person EVER to win both the Hodge Trophy and the AAU Sullivan Award#Hawkeyes #FightForIowa pic.twitter.com/s6b7oY36AP
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) January 5, 2021
If Lee wins the Hodge in 2021, he will be the fourth to win multiple times joining Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson (2000-02), Missouri’s Ben Askren (2006-07) and Penn State’s Zain Retherford (2017-18).
