Kansas City, Mo. - 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 Web Page of the Year - TheMat.com    TheMat.com is the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance, and is owned and managed by USA Wrestling. The web page was launched in June 2000, and the Olympic Team Trials in Dallas was the first major event covered. Managing the website since its launch has been Meredith Wilson, who serves as USA Wrestling's Director of Information Technology. TheMat.com covers all levels of wrestling, from youth to college through the Olympics. Among its most popular features are special sections covering the major events on the annual wrestling schedule from matside. USA Wrestling Communications staff members Gary Abbott and John Fuller are the major content providers for TheMat.com. Another favorite feature are the Bulletin Board sections, thematforums.com, where wrestling fans share opinions and ideas.     Wrestling Publication of the Year - Grappling    Grappling magazine is a newsstand magazine covering the mixed martial arts. The Editor in Chief is Todd Hester. Veteran wrestling reporter Eddie Goldman serves as the publication's wrestling editor. Grappling is the only national newsstand magazine that features amateur wrestling on a regular basis. In addition, stories on the many former wrestlers who are now competing in mixed martial arts appear on a regular basis, with references to their wrestling careers. In addition, the judo editor is Jason Morris (an All-American wrestler at Syracuse) and the Deputy Editor is Matt Furey (who wrestled at Edinboro). Although amateur wrestling is not the main focus of Grappling, the number of articles and features on wrestling and the quality of the journalism makes Grappling a publication that has helped promote the sport of wrestling to a large and growing audience.    Wrestling Print Journalist of the Year - Rob Sherrill, Center Mat Press    Sherrill, one of the three founders of the National Wrestling Media Association, has been involved in almost every aspect of wrestling journalism during his career. Sherrill operates Center Mat Press, a wrestling business that provides the best resource on high school wrestling in the nation. He is a columnist and regular contributor to W.I.N. magazine, with prep wrestling as his major focus. He runs the high school wrestling rankings for the states of Illinois and Tennessee. This past year, he served as high school editor for NWCAonline. His high school rankings have appeared in USA Today. Sherrill has done it all within wrestling, including extensive radio and television commentary of the sport at all levels. Earlier in his career, he was the editor of the state wrestling newspaper in Illinois. He is a fixture on press row at all of wrestling's major events, and has established himself as one of the sport's top historians. Sherrill also now covers many prep sports, including wrestling, for the Nashville Tennessean.    Wrestling Photographer of the Year - Tim Tushla, Sioux City, Iowa    Tushla is a professional photographer with a passion for wrestling, a combination that allows him to capture outstanding images of the sport. Tushla is a regular photographer for W.I.N. magazine, and served as W.I.N.'s editor for a year. He has also contributed to the Guillotine and the Dave Schultz WC newsletter. Tushla shoots high school wrestling for a number of area daily newspapers and also works as a freelance sports and news photographer. He has worked most of wrestling's major events, from the state high school meets to the U.S. Nationals, World Cup, World Team Trials, Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games. Tushla also has promoted a number of World Dual meets (USA vs. a top international nation) in cities such as Sioux City, Iowa; Sioux Falls, S.D. and Council Bluffs, Iowa.    Wrestling SID/Publicist of the Year - Brian Siegrist, Penn State    Siegrist, an Assistant Sports Information Director, is in his eighth year at Penn State, and has worked with the wrestling program all eight years. He is the primary contact for wrestling, plus men and women's cross country and track and field. As the Assistant Publications Director, he is responsible for layout and design of Penn State's media guides. Siegrist served as host site Media Relations Coordinator for the 1999 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held at Penn State. He also handled media relations duties for the 1998 Big Ten Championships, the 2000 and 2001 National Duals plus a number of major track and field events. He has received three major awards from CoSIDA for his work on Penn State's media guide. A graduate of Kansas State Univ., he also served a season as a Sports Information Graduate Assistant there. Siegrist is recognized as one of the top wrestling sports information professionals in the nation.    Wrestling Broadcaster of the Year - Scott Casber, Takedown Radio, KNXO    Casber has developed a regular two-hour wrestling radio talk show, Takedown Radio, which airs Saturdays in Des Moines, Iowa on KXNO. This show covers all aspects of the wrestling world, and features interviews with the top athletes and coaches in the sport. He has taken the show on the road to many major events. The nation can hear his radio show through the internet, as it is streamed at TakedownRadio.com, and linked to from the Wrestling Mall. Among the wrestling leaders who encouraged Casber to develop his show were Dan Gable and Mike Chapman. A number of other wrestling journalists are regular contributors to the show. Casber has worked in radio since 1975. He attended Brown Institute, the Univ. of Iowa and Drake Univ. He also has a video rental business, as well as handles voice-over assignments for commercials and films.    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 $20 a year. To join, send your address, with information about your media organization, to: NATIONAL WRESTLING MEDIA ASSOCIATION, 295 E. Monroe, Winthrop IA 50682.