Northwestern senior Jake Herbert has won the Hodge Trophy as the outstanding college wrestler for the 2008-09 season.

The announcement was made Tuesday night on Wrestling 411 by Mike Chapman of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum along with Bryan Van Kley of WIN Magazine.

The Dan Hodge Trophy is co-sponsored by WIN Magazine and the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The Hodge Trophy has been given annually to the most dominant college wrestler in the nation since 1995. 

Herbert won his second NCAA title at 184 pounds on March 21 in St. Louis. Herbert capped an unbeaten season by beating 2008 NCAA champion Mike Pucillo of Ohio State in the 2009 NCAA finals.

Herbert won his first NCAA title in 2007 before taking an Olympic redshirt last year.

The Wexford, Pa., native placed third in the 2005 NCAA meet before placing second in the 2006 national tournament.

Herbert was a three-time Big Ten champion and three-time Midlands champion.

He is a two-time World University bronze medalist in freestyle wrestling and is expected to contend for a spot on the 2009 U.S. World Team in freestyle.

HODGE TROPHY WINNERS
1995 T.J. Jaworsky 134 North Carolina 
1996 Les Gutches 177 Oregon State 
1997 Kerry McCoy 285 Penn State 
1998 Mark Ironside 134 Iowa 
1999 Stephen Neal 285 Cal-State Bakersfield 
2000 Cael Sanderson 184 Iowa State 
2001 Cael Sanderson (tie) 184 Iowa State 
2001 Nick Ackerman (tie) 174 Simpson College 
2002 Cael Sanderson 197 Iowa State 
2003 Eric Larkin 149 Arizona State 
2004 Emmett Willson 197 Montana State University - Northern 
2005 Steve Mocco 285 Oklahoma State 
2006 Ben Askren 174 Missouri 
2007 Ben Askren 174 Missouri 
2008 Brent Metcalf 149 Iowa 
2009 Jake Herbert 184 Northwestern