Your reply doesn’t make any sense. Please clarify what you are trying to say.
'26 Hodge Trophy Finalists; Fan Vote Now Open
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
FYI, the Hodge Trophy winner will be announced today at 4 instead of tomorrow at 1:
Ohio State has already hung the photo of Mendez holding the trophy.
Somewhere in Africa some poor kid is trying to drink a cup of water out of his Jesse Mendez Hodge trophy.
I wouldn't be surprised if Dieringer won the Hodge in 2015 that Zain would have won it in 2016. I think some of the voters in 2016 didn't want Dieringer to end his college career with no Hodge trophy.
Just a thought, but if Ed Ruth, Jason Nolf and Carter Starocci can have their careers without one it would have been OK for Dieringer to not have one.
It certainly looks like in 2014 they decided to take senior Taylor over junior Stieber, then in 2015 take senior Stieber over junior Dieringer, then in 2016 take senior Dieringer over Sophomore Retherford. Two of those three probably should have gone the other way.
I also feel like the "tie" (we aren't going to show you the vote, just trust us it was a tie) between Lee and Steveson was a direct response to Nolf never getting a Hodge.
Penn State wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink is the winner of the 2026 Dan Hodge Trophy. He's the eighth Nittany Lion to win the award and the first since Aaron Brooks in 2024.
www.on3.com
Penn State wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink wins the 2026 Dan Hodge Trophy
Penn State redshirt junior Mitchell Mesenbrink is the winner of the 2026 Hodge Trophy, which goes to the nation's best wrestler.
Mesebrink had 61 of a possible 65 first place votes. Jax Forrest had four and Josh Barr one.
Mesenbrink wins in a landslide! 66 votes for MM, 4 for Jax, and 1 for Barr
@GregPickel beat me to it
@GregPickel beat me to it
Quote from Mesenbrink to WIN:
“This is a very surreal come-to-fruition moment,” Mesenbrink said. “I’ve always had bonus (points), even throughout high school, but maybe I got overlooked because I never got OW awards. I went all throughout high school without getting one. I would rather have a Dan Hodge Trophy than the ‘Arrowhead Wrestling Invite OW,’ though, so at the end of the day, it was a good trade.
"With judgment awards, it is decided by someone else. I wrestle the way I do so I can take the interpretation out of the ref’s hands. I want to leave no doubt.”
www.win-magazine.com
“This is a very surreal come-to-fruition moment,” Mesenbrink said. “I’ve always had bonus (points), even throughout high school, but maybe I got overlooked because I never got OW awards. I went all throughout high school without getting one. I would rather have a Dan Hodge Trophy than the ‘Arrowhead Wrestling Invite OW,’ though, so at the end of the day, it was a good trade.
"With judgment awards, it is decided by someone else. I wrestle the way I do so I can take the interpretation out of the ref’s hands. I want to leave no doubt.”
Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink wins 2026 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy presented by ASICS Wrestling - WIN Magazine
Photo: Mitchell Mesenbrink got his hand raised on Saturday night in Cleveland after earning a tech fall over Iowa’s Michael Caliendo. Photo by Sam Janicki. By Tristan Warner NEWTON, Iowa – Long before Mitchell Mesenbrink ever stepped foot in the Penn State wrestling room, he recalls walking past...
www.win-magazine.com
The official story has it 61 of 65, FWIW. But they said 66, 4, 1 on the broadcast. I think what they're saying is 61 of 65 from voters, and then he also got the five fan vote first place votes.
Pretty obvious that Taylor (twice), Hendrickson and Ringer all voted for Forrest and I'd bet that Sanderson used one of his votes on Barr.
Very disappointed in MM for misusing the word "surreal", as is all too common these days.Quote from Mesenbrink to WIN:
“This is a very surreal come-to-fruition moment,” Mesenbrink said. “I’ve always had bonus (points), even throughout high school, but maybe I got overlooked because I never got OW awards. I went all throughout high school without getting one. I would rather have a Dan Hodge Trophy than the ‘Arrowhead Wrestling Invite OW,’ though, so at the end of the day, it was a good trade.
"With judgment awards, it is decided by someone else. I wrestle the way I do so I can take the interpretation out of the ref’s hands. I want to leave no doubt.”
Penn State's Mitchell Mesenbrink wins 2026 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy presented by ASICS Wrestling - WIN Magazine
Photo: Mitchell Mesenbrink got his hand raised on Saturday night in Cleveland after earning a tech fall over Iowa’s Michael Caliendo. Photo by Sam Janicki. By Tristan Warner NEWTON, Iowa – Long before Mitchell Mesenbrink ever stepped foot in the Penn State wrestling room, he recalls walking past...
I can’t believe he’s never won an OW award before.Very disappointed in MM for misusing the word "surreal", as is all too common these days.
I mean, it sort of makes sense inasmuch as he seems to have been regarded as a late bloomer. Which is all the more reason that it's not surreal.
(Several weeks ago, I was at a gala event sitting at a table with an Art History professor who specializes in surrealism. After a few drinks, I asked him if it bothered him that people constantly abuse the word, and he smiled and replied simply, "yes". It's like the ubiquitous "it was like a war zone" that one often hears after a thunderstorm passes through or somebody crashes their car into a telephone pole.)
If it is 61 of 66....
At 61 of 66 (92.4%) it is the largest landslide since vote totals were released beginning in 2013. The next closest were Spencer Lee (91.2% in 2020), Logan Stieber (90.9% in 2015), and Kyle Dake (90.7% in 2013).
There were 64 votes last year and the year before. So if 64 in 2024 makes sense then 66 makes sense this year. But if 64 was correct last year, 65 makes sense this year, who knows. Not sure if anyone passes way or decides to stop voting, so we only know the plus side, not the minus side.
Last edited:
I'm happy that I could interpret what he said! Normally I need a decoder ring to try to figure out where he is going with comments! lolVery disappointed in MM for misusing the word "surreal", as is all too common these days.
Congrats Mitchell, well deserved!
His interviews are indeed always interesting. Sorta reminds me of how one of my fellow cyclists in my Sunday riding group described our merry little band: "We got a doctor, a lawyer, a couple of college professors, an Indian chief, and we're all led by the best rider who is so far on the spectrum that no one can follow his directions."
Mitch is by far my favorite wrestler to watch. Honestly, I often wonder why others don't more obviously copy his style of constant motion and misdirection, pressing forward, technique, etc. It's like he's the only one who seems to appreciate that there is a third (and fourth) dimension. So far, the only working hypothesis that seems to make any sense is simply "they can't" (probably for gas tank reasons).
Last edited:
I'm sure he is using the term as "dreamlike", which is a common synonym for surreal, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt : )Very disappointed in MM for misusing the word "surreal", as is all too common these days.
It's a wrestling board, MM just won the Hodge, and were talking about the correct usage of the word surreal?
Surrealism is not usually associated with 'dreamlike' in the sense that "dream" is used to describe aspiration. It's used to underscore the absurd/irrational/bizarro, and that's about the last thing i think of when I think of mitch winning the hodge.
You're probably right - I probably should have planted this little seedling over on HRIt's a wrestling board, MM just won the Hodge, and were talking about the correct usage of the word surreal?
But what about if he used "surreal" like, "To hear that I won the Hodge was like waking from a dreamlike state only to realize it wasn't a dream at all. I really won! The possibilities are endless, and it is the off-season, so I see no reason to de-nerdify this grammarly change of direction : ).Surrealism is not usually associated with 'dreamlike' in the sense that "dream" is used to describe aspiration. It's used to underscore the absurd/irrational/bizarro, and that's about the last thing i think of when I think of mitch winning the hodge.
So, can Mitchell vote for himself next year or does he have to be done wrestling collegiately to vote?
Show me one Dali painting that even remotely reflects the theme you just described. Any one. I'll wait.
ps - LONG LIVE PEDANTISM
Show me one Dali painting that even remotely reflects the theme you just described. Any one. I'll wait.
ps - LONG LIVE PEDANTISM
