For Immediate Release: March 16, 2001  NWMA names annual National Wrestling Journalism Awards;  The Crossface, Sesker, Johnson, Wagner, Nugent and The Wrestling Mall honored      Iowa City, Iowa - The National Wrestling Media Association, the national professional organization for wrestling journalists, has named the recipients of its Annual Wrestling Journalist Awards.     The NWMA has honored the top wrestling journalists in the following categories: Broadcaster of the Year, Print Journalist of the Year, Photographer of the Year, Publicist/SID of the Year, Publication of the Year and Web Page of the Year. Candidates were nominated by the NWMA members.     Wrestling Publication of the Year - The Crossface   One of the oldest and most successful state wrestling newspapers in the nation, The Crossface has been covering the sport of wrestling on all levels in Wisconsin for almost 30 years. The current editor is Joe Kaster, longtime wrestling photographer and journalist. He is one of five partner publishers for the newspaper, which also include Dave Miller, Brett Penager, Marty Loy and Eric Burke. The Crossface covers all levels of Wisconsin wrestling, and give special attention to coverage of Big Ten wrestling. Previous owners have included Russ Hellickson, Rick Heinzelman and the Stoughton Newspapers. The Crossface regularly covers the major wrestling events on the national schedule, with special focus on Wisconsin athletes and teams.     Wrestling Print Journalist of the Year - Craig Sesker, Omaha World Herald   Sesker has worked for the World Herald for the past year, where he covers the Univ. of Nebraska, the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha, Iowa and Iowa State wrestling. He previously worked 11 years for the Burlington Hawkeye in Iowa, including the final six years as the sports editor. He is working his sixth NCAA Div. I Championships this weekend. Sesker attended Waverly College in Iowa. He was a talented high school wrestler, qualifying for the districts in Iowa two times. His hometown was Tipton, Iowa.     Wrestling Photographer of the Year - John Johnson, Winthrop, Iowa   Johnson is one of the top wrestling photographers in the nation, and his photos regularly appear in Amateur Wrestling News. He has also provided images for USA Wrestler, Wrestling USA and W.I.N. magazine, the other national wrestling publications. Johnson has attended many of the major wrestling events, including the NCAA Championships on all three levels, the Pan American Games, the Olympic Team Trials, the NJCAA Nationals, the NWCA All-Star Classic and others. He has received Photographer of the Year awards from Amateur Wrestling News (1997) and Wrestling USA magazine (1998). Johnson coached wrestling at Kirkwood CC in Iowa for seven years and on the high school level for five years. He began shooting wrestling photos in 1990 as a way to promote the sport. He was NJCAA Wrestling Coach of the Year two times for Region XI.     Wrestling SID/Publicist of the Year - Traci Wagner, Univ. of Iowa   Wagner is an assistant Sports Information Director for the Univ. of Iowa, and has worked with the wrestling program in recent seasons. She is in her second year as a fulltime assistant, after serving four years as a student assistant and two years as an intern. A native of Iowa Falls, Iowa, she earned her degree in 1997, with a double major of journalism and communications studies. She serves as the local Sports Information contact for the 2001 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which are being held at Carver Hawkeye Arena at the Univ. of Iowa.      Wrestling Broadcaster of the Year - Larry Nugent, USA Sports Broadcasting   Nugent has served as an Assistant Producer for USA Sports Broadcasting, which is USA Wrestling's broadcast division. He assisted in the production of many high school, college and international telecasts. In recent years, Larry has served as on-air play-by-play talent on the telecasts, both college and international events, which were broadcast on national and regional television. He also procured sponsorship to underwrite "Pennsylvania Wrestling Legends," a 60 Minute VHS documentary on the legacy of Pennsylvania Wrestling. Nugent created and entered into a joint marketing agreement with the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association to promote and sell the documentary. His new job with USA Wrestling is Director of Development for the organization.      Wrestling Web Page of the Year - The Wrestling Mall   This innovative web page has been providing national wrestling coverage, as well as creative wrestling product sales, since the 1999-2000 wrestling season. Jesse Krebs is the current owner and webmaster and Glenn Anderson serves as sales and marketing consultant. The Wrestling Mall covers all aspects of wrestling, with news, stories, results, rankings and camp listings on many levels. There is a new interview or feature every other day. The page provides match-by-match updates of major duals, and provides coverage of major events such as the Midlands, National Duals, Lone Star Duals and the NCAA Championships. A key element of the site is a searchable database for results and news. The site features fantasy wrestling, and a large selection of wrestling merchandise from major suppliers, along with college apparel and camp apparel.     The National Wrestling Media Association is the professional organization for wrestling journalists nationwide, and has served the wrestling community since 1988. The organization represents hundreds of reporters, editors, photographers, broadcasters, webmasters and Sports Information Directors with a shared involvement in wrestling.    Membership in the NWMA costs just $10 a year. To join, send your address, with information about your media organization, to: NATIONAL WRESTLING MEDIA ASSOCIATION, 825 Stella Ireland Rd., Binghamton NY 13905