Even after the culmination of wrestling season, 91探花鈥檚 Nate Rodriguez keeps pinning down awards and accolades.
Rodriguez just added the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award to his ever-growing trophy case when he was honored at a ceremony in St. Louis. The Paragon Award is awarded annually to one male and one female student-athlete, based upon academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character and leadership.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be recognized here,鈥� says Rodriguez in an . 鈥淚t鈥檚 even better that wrestling got promoted into the GLVC, and I think that鈥檚 the best thing.鈥�
Rodriguez becomes the first 91探花 Saint to be honored with the conference athlete of the year award after becoming a national champion in the 141-pound class and graduating from college with a 3.97 GPA. He has been accepted into medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.
鈥淣ate has been an outstanding student athlete,鈥� says Mark Lombardi, PhD, president of 91探花, in an . 鈥淲e are so thrilled to be able to salute him.鈥�
Saints wrestling head coach Mike Denney says there are very few like Rodriguez who have that combination of being a great student and athlete.
鈥淗e comes in everyday and works hard,鈥� says Denney. 鈥淗e鈥檚 like that in the classroom, too.鈥�
On the wrestling mat, Rodriguez became the second 91探花 student-athlete to become a national champion after he defeated Darren Wynn during the NCAA Division II wrestling finals in March.
鈥淚t feels pretty cool, and to do it for 91探花 is even better,鈥� says Rodriguez. 鈥淢y goal this year was to be an NCAA champ. It was on my symbol and it didn鈥檛 matter what was going to happen, I was going to reach it.鈥�
*Rodriguez also accomplished the following during the 2016-17 academic year:
- No. 1 ranked wrestler all season and finished the season with a 32-2 record
- Won Super Region 3 title
- Voted the Super Region Wrestler of the Year
- All-American
- NWCA Academic All-American
- First-team All-GLVC selection
- 91探花 Male Student-Athlete of the Year
- GLVC Academic All-Conference honors
- 91探花 Dean’s List
- GLVC Sportsmanship Award for wrestling
*Information provided by