The National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Thursday announced that Mark Hall II of Apple Valley, Minnesota has been chosen as the 2016 recipient of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (DSHSEA) and Katie Brock of Whitwell, Tennessee has been chosen as the 2016 recipient of the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award (TSHSEA).

“Selecting the winners of these two awards is always difficult for our committee because we receive so many deserving nominees, who have all excelled on and off the wrestling mat,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “We are pleased to name Mark and Katie as our national winners and believe that they are great representatives, who will continue to achieve athletically and academically at the next level.”

Hall is the first six-time Minnesota High School state champion, finishing with a career record of 277-4, including 171 consecutive wins. The son of Mark Hall and Melissa Warren, he helped Apple Valley High School win six team state titles to become the only wrestler in state history to earn 12 combined titles.

“Winning the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award is a tremendous honor. When I think of the company that I am in, it makes it that much better,” said Hall. “Dave Schultz is a name that rings through the wrestling world and to receive an award named after him is something that I will always remember.”

Brock is a four-time Tennessee state champion for Sequatchie County High School in Dunlap, Tennessee, capturing more state championships than any team or individual in school history. The daughter of Scotty and Marsha Brock, she had a career record of 113-2 and earned Best Wrestler honors at the regional and state tournaments as a senior.

“It is so exciting just to have my name mentioned in the same sentence with Tricia Saunders, who is not only known for being an amazing female wrestler but also an outstanding coach. If it were not for her dedication and perseverance I would not have had the opportunity to be where I am today,” said Brock. “She made impossible dreams possible for so many young women. From the beginning, my teammates and coaches have viewed me as a wrestler, not as a girl, and have pushed me to give my best in each and every match. They would give up their Saturdays and go to a tournament just to support me. They are my extended family.

“Despite having a very small team, the school and community have been very supportive and stood behind us 100 percent,” she added. “It is a privilege that someone from a small town in Tennessee would be honored with such a prestigious award as the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award.”

Hall won his second consecutive UWW Junior National title and was named Outstanding Wrestler at the 2016 UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals on April 27-30 in Las Vegas. He captured a Pan American cadet title and a FILA cadet world championship, and competed in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials where he advanced to the quarterfinals.

Hall has a GPA of 3.72 and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and Mary’s Place, which offers transitional apartments for homeless families with children. He has signed a letter of intent to wrestle for national champion Penn State University.

Brock was captain of the wrestling team all four years while also lettering four years in volleyball and serving as team captain as a senior. She has a GPA of 3.54 and has worked as a volunteer with the Sequatchie County Fair as well as being involved with Junior Health Council, Beta Club, and Connect Crew. She has signed a letter of intent to wrestle at Campbellsville University.

The Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award was established in 1996 to honor Olympic and World champion Schultz, whose career was cut short when he was murdered in January of 1996. He was inducted as a Distinguished Member into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1997.

Hall was chosen from the five regional winners – Taylor LaMont of Mapleton, Utah (West Region), Jack Mueller of Dallas, Texas (Central Region), Nick Suriano of Paramus, New Jersey (Northeast Region), and Kyle Norstrem of Valrico, Florida (Southeast Region) – which were selected from the winners chosen from the 49 states that sponsor boys’ high school championships.

Past winners of the DSHSEA include Logan Stieber, who became the fourth wrestler to win four NCAA Championships, and Coleman Scott, who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. In addition to Stieber, DSHEA winners have won 10 NCAA titles with Steven Mocco, Teyon Ware, and David Taylor each winning two championships.

First presented in 2014, the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award is named for Saunders, a four-time World champion and women’s wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2006, and is also a member of the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Brock was chosen from the winners from the seven states that sponsor an all-female girls’ high school championship - Roberta Christopher of New Stuyahok, Alaska, Gabby Garcia of Anaheim, California, Teshya Alo of Honolulu, Payton Rigert of Hood River, Oregon, Brianna Holcomb of El Paso, Texas and Jordyn Bartelson of Puyallup, Washington.

The awards recognize and celebrate the nation’s most outstanding high school seniors for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service.

The state winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.

Nominations for the DSHSEA award are accepted from the 49 states that sponsor boys’ high school championships while nominations for the TSHSEA are accepted from the seven states that sponsor an all-female girls’ high school championship. Winners are determined by a committee with input from National Wrestling Hall of Fame State Chapters, where applicable. Five regional winners are chosen for the DSHSEA, and the national winner is selected from those winners.

The inaugural recipient of the TSHSEA in 2014, Marina Doi won the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association championship and was 30-1 as a sophomore in 2016 after a runner-up finish to four-time national champion Emily Webster as a freshman.

All-Time National Winners of Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award
2016 - Mark Hall II, Apple Valley High School, Apple Valley, Minnesota
2015 - Zahid Valencia, St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, California
2014 - Chance Marsteller, Kennard-Dale High School, Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania
2013 - Zain Retherford, Benton Area High School, Benton, Pennsylvania
2012 - Taylor Massa, St. Johns High School, St. Johns, Michigan
2011 - Morgan McIntosh, Calvary Chapel High School, Santa Ana, California
2010 - Logan Steiber, Monroeville High School, Monroeville, Ohio
2009 - David Taylor, Graham High School, St. Paris, Ohio
2008 - Jason Chamberlain, Springville High School, Springville, Utah
2007 - Zachary Sanders, Wabasha-Kellog High School, Wabasha, Minnesota
2006 - David Craig, Brandon High School, Brandon, Florida
2005 - Troy Nickerson, Chenango Forks High School, Chenango Forks, New York
2004 - Coleman Scott, Waynesburg High School, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
2003 - C. P. Schlatter, St. Paul Graham High School, Urbana, Ohio
2002 - Teyon Ware, Edmond North High School, Edmond, Oklahoma
2001 - Steven Mocco, Blair Academy, Blairstown, New Jersey
2000 - Ben Connell, Lugoff-Elgin High School, Lugoff, South Carolina
1999 - Zach Roberson, Blue Valley North West High School, Overland Park, Kansas
1998 - Garrett Lowney, Freedom High School, Appleton, Wisconsin and Justin Ruiz, Taylorsville High School, Salt Lake City, Utah
1997 - Jeff Knupp, Walsh Jesuit High School, Akron, Ohio
1996 - David Kjeldgaard, Lewis Central High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa

All-Time National Winners of Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award
2016 - Katie Brock, Sequatchie County High School, Dunlap, Tennessee
2015 - Marizza Birrueta, Grandview High School, Grandview, Washington
2014 - Marina Doi, Kingsburg High School, Kingsburg, California

National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum
America’s shrine to the sport of wrestling, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1976 to honor the sport of wrestling, preserve its history, recognize extraordinary individual achievements, and inspire future generations. With museums in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Waterloo, Iowa, the Hall of Fame has the largest collection of wrestling artifacts and memorabilia in the world including the Hall of Honors in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where wrestling legends are enshrined at the national, regional, and state level. The rich heritage and diversity of the sport will be highlighted throughout the newly-renovated museum. There is also a library featuring historical documents and books on the sport as well as a theater. The Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma, is currently closed to visitors while undergoing an entire interior renovation. It is scheduled to re-open on June 3-4, 2016, just in time to celebrate its 40th anniversary at the annual Honors Weekend induction ceremonies. For more information about the Hall of Fame, please visit www.NWHOF.org.