Pennsylvania phenom Chance Marsteller and California native Marina Doi have been named the national winners of the High School Excellence Awards given by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.

Marsteller, a senior from Kennard-Dale High School in Fawn Grove, Pa., is the 2014 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award winner. Doi, a senior at Kinsgburg High School, is the winner of the inaugural Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award. Each award recipient is evaluated on excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service.

“Chance Marsteller and Marina Doi have set new standards of excellence for Pennsylvania and California high school wrestlers with their success in wrestling,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “Each of these student-athletes pursued and achieved their wrestling goals while taking equal responsibility for their performances in the classroom and in giving back to their communities through civic and community service activities.”

Marsteller was selected from the 49 state winners and five regional winners that were announced on May 6 by the NWHOF.

“I am very honored to have been nominated for the Dave Schultz award,” Marsteller said. “When it comes to wrestling greats, one of the most remembered was Dave Schultz, on and off the mat. Growing up, I always heard stories of his work ethic and what a great person he was off the mat. In turn, to receive this award is truly humbling and a great way to cap off my senior year of high school.”

Marsteller is a four-time Pennsylvania high school state champion, who earned the Outstanding Wrestler Award three times at the event. He put together an unblemished 166-0 record while at Kennard-Dale High School. He claimed two-straight USA Wrestling Freestyle Cadet national titles after he won the 2011 Greco-Roman Cadet National Championship. Marsteller was most recently named the 2014 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Wrestler of the Year by USAToday and was honored by Intermat as the 2014 Wrestler of the Year.

He established the Pride Wrestling Club in his hometown to help train and coach wrestlers ages 8-18. He also volunteers as a coach with Kennard-Dale Youth Wrestling. On the scholastic side, he carries a 3.33 GPA and will attend Oklahoma State University this fall as a projected 174 pounder.

The Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award is named in memory of World and Olympic champion Dave Schultz.

This year, the Hall of Fame introduced the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award, given to outstanding female seniors in states that sponsor a female high school state wrestling championship. Saunders, who inspired the award, was a four-time World Champion, a member of the FILA Hall of Fame and the first female Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

“I am very honored to have my name associated with the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's High School Excellence Award, and am impressed with the accomplishments of all of the high school athletes who have earned this recognition,” Saunders said. “It is great to see the inclusion of female athletes in the 2014 class, and it is my hope that we continue to see an increase in the number of states that host high school state championships for girls. It is inspiring to see so many hard working, talented young wrestlers give back to their communities, while excelling both athletically and scholastically at the highest levels.”

Doi is a two-time California Interscholastic Federation state champion, winning titles in 2012 and 2014. On the international level, Doi is a four-time USA Wrestling Triple Crown winner, a three-time FILA Cadet Pan-American Champion and a three-time FILA Cadet World Medalist, taking gold in 2012. She also won Fargo in 2011 and 2013 and Reno Worlds in 2009 and 2011. Most recently, she took the title of Oklahoma Nationals Champion.

Over the last four years, Doi has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and will attend King University in the fall. As a part of her community service, Doi has run several wrestling clinics for young athletes and volunteers as a tutor at a local daycare. She is also involved with her school’s AVID and Pre-Med clubs.

“I am very honored to be selected as the recipient for the first ever Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award” Doi said. “Tricia Saunders was the most accomplished female US wrestler and she has inspired so many female wrestlers to follow in her footsteps. I am so grateful that I was able to meet and learn from her at a developmental camp in Phoenix, Ariz., in December of 2013. Receiving this award means so much to me, and it makes me realize how much women's wrestling is still growing.”

Marsteller and Doi will attend Honors Weekend on June 20-21, to accept their awards. The following is a list of previous award winners:

 

Dave Schultz High School Excellence National Winners

1996 David Kjeldgaard, Lewis Central High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa

1997 Jeff Knupp, Walsh Jesuit High School, Akron, Ohio

1998 Garrett Lowney, Freedom High School, Appleton, Wisconsin

and Justin Ruiz, Taylorsville High School, Salt Lake City, Utah

1999 Zach Roberson, Blue Valley North West High School, Overland Park, Kansas

2000 Ben Connell, Lugoff-Elgin High School, Lugoff, South Carolina

2001 Steven Mocco, Blair Academy, Blairstown, New Jersey

2002 Teyon Ware, Edmond North High School, Edmond, Oklahoma

2003 C. P. Schlatter, St. Paul Graham High School, Urbana, Ohio

2004 Coleman Scott, Waynesburg High School, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania

2005 Troy Nickerson, Chenango Forks High School, Chenango Forks, New York

2006 David Craig, Brandon High School, Brandon, Florida

2007 Zachary Sanders, Wabasha-Kellog High School, Wabasha, Minnesota

2008 Jason Chamberlain, Springville High School, Springville, Utah

2009 David Taylor, Graham High School, St. Paris, Ohio

2010 Logan Stieber, Monroeville High School, Monroeville, Ohio

2011 Morgan McIntosh, Calvary Chapel High School, Santa Ana, California

2012 Taylor Massa, St. Johns High School, St. Johns, Michigan

2013 Zain Retherford, Benton Area High School, Benton, Pennsylvania