By John Hoke
Amateur Wrestling News

Amateur Wrestling News will present The Hammer, its annual award, to Oklahoma State’s Sergio Vega, who was the Arizona winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (DSHSEA) in 2025.

The award is presented to the wrestler who wins the national title at what the writers at AWN determine to be the most competitive weight class during the NCAA Tournament.

Vega won the 141-pound title in Cleveland, Ohio, by defeating two-time NCAA champion Jesse Mendez , who was the Indiana winner of the DSHSEA in 2022, of Ohio State in the finals, plus returning All-Americans Nasir Bailey of Iowa in the quarterfinals and Nebraska’s Brock Hardy, who was the Utah winner of the DSHSEA in 2018, in the semifinals. The Cowboy, a true freshman, is the second Oklahoma State wrestler in a row to win the award (Dean Hamiti, who was the Illinois winner of the DSHSEA in 2021, won it last year). Vega ended the season with a 24-0 record, which keeps him undefeated in his college career.

Past Hammer recipients include DSHSEA winner and National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member Logan Stieber, DSHSEA winners Spencer Lee, Zahid Valencia, Bo Nickal, Keegan O’Toole, David Carr, and Hamiti, and Alex Dieringer, Nick Lee and Vito Arujau.

An award is only as prestigious as the quality of those who have previously won it.