The U.S. Olympic Committee honored its 2009 Wrestling Male and Female Wrestling Athletes of the Year, as well as its Wrestling Team of the Year with announcements in January.

The Male Wrestler of the Year was 2009 World silver medalist Jake Herbert (Evanston, Ill./New York AC).  The Female Wrestler of the Year was 2009 U.S. World Team member Adeline Gray (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC). The Wrestling Team of the Year is the 2009 U.S. Men's FILA Junior World Freestyle Team.

It is the first time that either Herbert or Gray won this prestigious award.

Each year the USOC recognizes the top male and top female athletes and the top team as selected by their respective member organizations. The names of the athletes and teams are placed on ballots used to select the USOC SportsMan, SportsWoman and overall Team of the Year. 

The USOC named Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick as the SportsMan of the Year, alpine skier Lindsay Vonn as SportsWoman of the Year and the U.S. four-man bobsled team as the Team of Year for 2009. Mono-skier Stephani Victor and sled hockey player Steve Cash were the Paralympic Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year, while the Paralympic Team of the Year was the U.S. national sled hockey team for 2009.

Competing in his first World Championships, Herbert won a silver medal at 84 kg/185 lbs. at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark in September.

Herbert finished with a 4-1 record in the World Championships. He opened with victories over David Bichinashvili of Georgia, Sharip Sharipov of Azerbaijan and Gokhan Yavaser of Turkey. Herbert had a strong performance in his semifinal win over Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia in three periods, 0-4, 2-2, 1-0. He was edged in the gold-medal finals by Zaurbek Sokhiev of Uzbekistan, 0-1, 0-1.

He was one of two U.S. wrestlers to win a silver medal at the World Championships, along with Greco-Roman star Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

The World Championships performance capped off a long and successful season for Herbert, who also completed his college career at Northwestern Univ. in March 2009. He won his second career NCAA Div. I title, and was named the Hodge Trophy award winner as the nation's top college wrestler. He was also named Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year.

In April 2009, Herbert claimed his first U.S. Nationals title, defeating Eric Luedke (Iowa City, Iowa/Gator WC) in the gold-medal finals.

In June, 2009, Herbert qualified for his first U.S. Senior-level team, winning the U.S. World Team Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He defeated Bryce Hasseman (Iowa City, Iowa/New York AC) in a competitive three-match finals series to secure his spot on the U.S. team.

Herbert was also a silver medalist at the New York Athletic Club International in November 2009.

Herbert, now 25, attended Northwestern University. He was a prep star at North Allegheny High School in Pennsylvania. This fall, Herbert became a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete, splitting his training time between Colorado Springs, Colo. and Illinois.

Gray placed fifth at 67 kg/147.7 lbs. at the World Wrestling Championships in Herning, Denmark in September 2009, competing on her first U.S. World Team.

She finished with a 2-2 record, with wins against Maria Mueller of Germany and Yan Ma of China. In the bronze-medal match, she dropped a heartbreaking bout to Ifeoma Iheanacho of Nigeria, 8-1, 2-2, 0-2.

She was one of three U.S. women wrestlers to finish fifth at the 2009 World Championships, along with Tatiana Padilla (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Deanna Rix (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 59 kg/130 lbs.

Gray won her first U.S. Nationals title in April, 2009, defeating Sheila McCabe (San Diego, Calif./OCU Stars) in the gold-medal finals.

She qualified for her first U.S. Senior-level team with a victory at the U.S. World Team Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa in May 2009. She defeated Christen Paysee (Fullerton, Calif./Univ. of the Cumberlands) in the championship series in two straight matches.

Gray won three gold medals in major international events hosted in the United States in 2009, winning the Dave Schultz Memorial International in Colorado Springs, Colo. in February, the Sunkist Kids International Open in Phoenix, Ariz. in October and the New York Athletic Club International Open in New York, N.Y. in November. 

She won a bronze medal at the Canada Cup in July, 2009. Gray was also fourth at the Women's World Cup in Taiyuan, China in March 2009.

Gray qualified for her second straight U.S. Junior World Team with a victory at the Body Bar FILA Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. in May 2009. She went on to place ninth at the FILA Junior World Championships in Ankara, Turkey in August 2009. 

Gray was also named the 2009 ASICS Girls High School Wrestler of the Year. In July, she won the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships, her third straight title.

Gray, now 19, is a native of Denver, Colo. She completed her high school career as a member of the U.S. Olympic Education program at Northern Michigan Univ., attending Marquette High School. In prior years, she attended Chatfield High School in Colorado. Gray is currently a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The 2009 U.S. Men's FILA Junior World Team placed fourth in the team standings at the FILA Junior World Freestyle Championships in Istanbul, Turkey in August 2009. The U.S. team placed behind only Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran in the final standings. This was the top finish of a U.S. World team on the Junior, University or Senior level this year.

The U.S. had an individual champion, Dom Bradley of Missouri at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. Bradley competes for the Univ. of Missouri.

The U.S. had two bronze medalists, Andrew Howe of Indiana at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Jordan Oliver of Pennsylvania at 60 kg/132 lbs. Howe was a 2009 NCAA runner-up for the Univ. of Wisconsin and Oliver competes for Oklahoma State.

The U.S. had two fifth-place finishers, Tony Ramos of Illinois at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Chris Perry of Oklahoma at 84 kg/185 lbs, as both qualified for bronze-medal bouts. Both were high school seniors last year. Ramos now attends the Univ. of Iowa and Perry attends Oklahoma State. Also placing seventh was Tyrell Fortune of Oregon at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. Fortune was a NJCAA Junior College national champion for Clackamas CC in 2009.

Coaching the team were Dave Bennett of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Eric Guerrero of Stillwater, Okla.

2009 U.S. Men's Freestyle Junior World Freestyle Team
50 kg/ 110 lbs. - Carson Kuhn, Sandy, Utah (Vandit), dnp/20th
55 kg/121 lbs. - Tony Ramos, Carol Stream, Ill. (Izzy Style), 5th
60 kg/132 lbs. - Jordan Oliver, Easton, Pa. (Gator WC), 3rd
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jason Chamberlain, Springville, Utah (Bronco WC), dnp/29th
74 kg/163 lbs. - Andrew Howe, Cedar Lake, Ind. (New York AC), 3rd
84 kg/185 lbs. - Chris Perry, Stillwater, Okla. (Gator WC), 5th
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Tyrell Fortune, Portland, Ore. (Peninsula WC), 7th
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Dom Bradley, Blue Springs, Mo. (Sunkist Kids), 1st
Coaches - Dave Bennett, Colorado Springs, Colo. and Eric Guerrero, Stillwater, Okla.