STILLWATER, Okla. -- The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum has selected its 2008 state and regional winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award. Forty-nine seniors from those states that sponsor high school state wrestling championships have been chosen for the honor. 

The High School Excellence Award is named in honor of Olympic and World Champion Dave Schultz. Each award recipient is evaluated on excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service. 

"A graduate of Palo Alto High School and the University of Oklahoma, Dave Schultz was one of the most respected high school, collegiate, and international wrestlers the United States has ever had," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Regarded as a tireless competitor and supreme technician on the mat, Schultz was beloved throughout the world of amateur wrestling for his friendliness and eagerness to lend help or advice to teammates and opponents alike. He was inducted into the sport's Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1997.

Since the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award's inception in 1996, the Wrestling Hall of Fame has recognized 530 student-wrestlers. The national award winner will be chosen from the state and regional winners and announced on April 30. The winner will attend Honors Weekend on May 30-31 to personally accept the award.

For the second straight year, the High School Excellence program will include a leadership camp for those individuals selected for the award. 

"Thanks to a grant from a private foundation, we are pleased to provide the winners of our Dave Schultz Award with the opportunity to attend an all-expense-paid leadership camp from June 18-21 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.," Smith said.

USA Wrestling, the sport's governing body, will host the camp at the Olympic Training Center.

"USA Wrestling is equally excited to join the Hall of Fame in fulfilling the requirements of this program by providing a world class program at the Olympic Training Center for the student-athletes chosen to participate in this camp," said Rich Bender, USAW Executive Director. "The camp agenda will include instructional sessions with our freestyle and Greco Roman national coaches and wrestlers, and will also feature presentations on sport psychology, strength and conditioning, nutrition, leadership development and public speaking, all presented by experts in the field."

Part of the foundation's funding criteria requires that, after the camp, the award winners speak to at-risk youth in their communities on the benefits of participating in extra curricular activities like athletics. 

Smith said the leadership and public speaking sessions will help the student-athletes prepare to fulfill this responsibility. 

"These student-wrestlers are role models in their communities and have an opportunity to influence young people in a very meaningful way. Statistics show that both male and female students are more likely to stay in school, graduate, and become more productive citizens when they are involved in extra curricular activities and after school programs like sports, art, debate and music."

The five regional winners are:

East Region - Jordan Oliver, from Easton Area High School in Easton, Penn., has a career record of 175-5. He was a three-time state champion and a four-time state finalist. In 2006 he was a cadet national freestyle champion and followed that up the next year winning a junior national championship. As both a sophomore and a junior, he won the National High School Coaches Association National Championship. He has served numerous youth groups at St. Anthony and Forks Community Youth Center as a volunteer and speaker in Easton. Oliver received the 2006 NAACP Academic-Athlete award. He helps train kids at the Hunterdon Developmental Center in New Jersey for Special Olympics and participated in Red Cross America in 2008. He carries a 3.0 G.P.A. and will be attending Oklahoma State University next fall as a student-wrestler. His projected weight in college is 133 pounds.

Midwest Region - Conrad Polz is from Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Ill. and has a career record of 175-15. He is a three-time state high school champion and a 2007 national junior freestyle runner-up. His community service activities include 45 hours with the Calumet Memorial Park District and the Pioneer youth wrestling program. He is also a member of the Physical Education Leadership Organization and was the team captain for the three-time state wrestling champions at Carl Sandburg High School. He carries a 3.5 G.P.A. and will attend the University of Illinois next fall. His projected collegiate weight is 157 or 165 pounds.

Central Region - Matt McDonough is from Linn Mar Community School in Marion, Iowa. With a career record of 151-15, he won three Iowa state championships. In 2006, he made it to the finals of the Cadet National Championships in both freestyle and Greco-Roman; and was crowned champion in freestyle. In 2007, he placed fifth in Junior National Freestyle. He has served four years with the Teens Reaching Youth and Students Against Drugs and Alcohol organizations and the Lean On Me mentoring program. He has been a member of the Linn Mar Science Club for two years and volunteered for the school's booster club the past four years. He is a three-year academic all-stater and National Honor Society member. He carries at 4.0 G.P.A. and will be attending the University of Iowa next fall as a student-wrestler. His projected weight in college is 133 pounds.

West Region - Jason Chamberlain is from Springfield High School in Springville, Utah. His career record of 191-2 includes 98 pins and four state championships. He was a team captain on his high school wrestling team and was honored by USA Utah as the "Wrestler of the Year" in 2007. He was a Junior National Freestyle champion and Greco-Roman runner-up in 2007. In both 2006 and 2007, he was the NHSCA national champion. He has been the recipient of the Academic All-Region award from the Utah High School Activities Association the past four years. He has served as a Teachers Aid in Sports Medicine classes and as a volunteer youth leader at his local church. He has spent numerous volunteer hours coaching and officiating youth wrestling activities, and was a camp counselor for the Rulon Gardner summer camp. He carries a 3.75 G.P.A. and will be attending Boise State University next fall as a student-wrestler. He is projected to wrestle at 141 pounds in college.

South Region - Kyle Cuthbertson is from Scottsboro High School in Scottsboro, Ala. He compiled a career record of 275-9 and was a five-time Alabama state champion. He set a national single-season high school pin record with 58 falls during his senior campaign. As a sophomore, he won the NHSCA Championship and finished as runner-up as a junior. Kyle is an Eagle Scout and a member of the National Honor Society. He is also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and teaches 3-4 year olds at church. He will be leaving on a 2-year church mission before attending college. Kyle carries a 4.0 G.P.A. and will likely be attending Boise State University. He is projected to wrestle at 165 or 174 pounds in college.

2008 Winners by State, Name and School
Alabama / Kyle Cuthbertson / Scottsboro High School (South Region Winner)
Alaska / Jimmy Eggemeyer / Kodiak High School
Arizona / Diego Bencomo / Independence High School
Arkansas / Michael Gordon / Fayetteville High School
California / Jason Welch / Las Lomas High School
Colorado / Tyler Graff / Loveland High School
Connecticut / Tyler Banks / Griswold High School
Delaware / Alex Meade / Caesar Rodney High School
Florida / Scotti Sentes / Riverdale High School
Georgia / Peter Yates / Salem High School
Hawaii / Daniel Chow / Punahou School
Idaho / Jacob Scharbrough / Weiser High School
Illinois / Conrad Polz / Carl Sandburg High School (Midwest Region Winner)
Indiana / Andrew Howe / Hanover Central High School
Iowa / Matt McDonough / Linn Mar Community School (Central Region Winner)
Kansas / Romeroo Cotton / Hutchison High School
Kentucky / Mitch Ervin / Union County High School
Louisiana / Nick Shields / Brother Martin High School
Maine / Christopher Smith / Deering High School
Maryland / Bubby Graham / Annapolis High School
Massachusetts / John Sughrue / Methuen High School
Michigan / Mark Weber / Goodrich High School
Minnesota / Jake Deitchler / Anoka High School
Missouri / Craig Wilson / Farmington High School
Montana / Jared Rohrback / C. M. Russell High School  
Nebraska / Tyler Sackett / Omaha Skutt High School
Nevada / Alex Proffitt / Mohave High School
New Hampshire / Trevor Dearden / Salem High School
New Jersey / Mario Mason / Blair Academy
New Mexico / Jake Martinez / Robertson High School
New York / Hunter Meys / Shenendehowa High School
North Carolina / Jon Burns / Cardinal Gibbons High School
North Dakota / Kris McCleary / Napoleon High School
Ohio / Cody Mangrum / Oak Harbor High School
Oklahoma / Kyle Blevins / Sapulpa High School
Oregon / Jarrett Owens / Tillamook High School
Pennsylvania / Jordan Oliver / Easton Area High School (East Region Winner)
Rhode Island / Conner Nelson / South Kingston High School
South Carolina / T.T. Prayther / North Myrtle Beach High School
South Dakota / Riley Reiff / Parkston High School
Tennessee / David Mang / Bradley Central High School
Texas / Ben Grisz / St. Marks School of Texas
Utah / Jason Chamberlain / Springville High School (West Region Winner) 
Vermont / Robert Hamlin / Mt. Mansfield Union High School
Virginia / Jared King / Great Bridges High School
Washington / Brian Owen / University High School
West Virginia / Seth Easter / Nitro High School
Wisconsin / Cole Schmidt / Belleville High School
Wyoming / Jarred Hartley / Torrington High School