Major Ray Mendoza Award
The Major Ray Mendoza Award is presented to an individual wrestler who scores the most team points at the annual Ironman, Beast of the East or national prep tournament. The award was created by Col. (ret) David Ritterpusch, author of The Standard of Excellence, an extensive history of Blair wrestling, to honor the late Major Ray Mendoza '87, a standout wrestler during his time at Blair, who was killed-in-action in Iraq in November 2005.
The winners of the Mendoza Award have gone on to remarkable wrestling achievements at the national and international levels. Thanks to a completely objective selection process, the award has proven to be an accurate predictor of later wrestling success. The importance of having the award tied to a wrestler’s optimal contribution to his team serves to honor Major Mendoza, who gave his life for his country.
In the 33 times that the Mendoza Award has been presented, beginning at Ironman in December 2009, only twice has the Mendoza winner also been named the respective tournament's Outstanding Wrestler (OW), a subjective accolade determined by a committee vote. Spencer Lee earned both titles at Ironman in 2013 and went on to win NCAA’s at 125 lbs in 2018 and 2019. At the December 2018 Ironman, Ryan Anderson was the co-Mendoza winner with Colton Schultz, and was named OW.
Blair Academy wrestlers have won the Mendoza Award 11 times. Among the Blair Mendoza winners are current three-time NCAA All-Americans Joey McKenna (Ohio State) and Matt Kolodzik (Princeton). Joey has placed 3rd, 3rd and 2nd. Matt has placed 7th, 3rd and 5th.
The most recent Blair Mendoza winner was junior Shane Van Ness at the 2020 national prep tournament, at which in his five matches, USA #1 Van Ness registered three falls and two technical falls, including one in the 132 lbs. finals over the reigning Ironman Champ.
It is noteworthy that the USA’s men’s only wrestling gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and America’s youngest world champ of all time (in 2015) was rare two-time Mendoza winner Kyle Snyder.
Achievements By Mendoza Award Winners
- Olympic Gold Medalist
- Kyle Snyder, USA, 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
- Two World Champions
- Kyle Snyder, USA, 2015* & 2017
*Youngest USA world champion in history
- Kyle Snyder, USA, 2015* & 2017
- One World Silver Medal
- Kyle Snyder, USA, 2018
- One World Bronze Medal
- Kyle Snyder, USA, 2019
- Nine Individual NCAA Championship Titles
- Zain Retherford, Penn State, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Kyle Snyder, Ohio State, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Myles Martin, Ohio State, 2016
- Spencer Lee, Iowa, 2018, 2019
- 41 NCAA All-American Placements
- Awardees have placed in the top three at the NCAA championships many times. The most recent top-three finishes by Mendoza winners were Spencer Lee’s 2019 championship, the second-place finishes in 2019 by Jack Mueller and Joey McKenna and the third-place finish in 2019 by Myles Martin.
Major Ray Mendoza Award Recipients
| Year | Tournament | Wrestler | Team | Year | Weight Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Ironman | Nick Sulzer | St. Edward (OH) | Senior | 160 lbs. |
| 2009 | Beast of the East | Mike McMullan | Wyoming Seminary (PA) | Senior | 285 lbs |
| 2010 | National Preps | Don McNeil | Wyoming Seminary (PA) | Senior | 215 lbs. |
| 2010 | Ironman | Morgan McIntosh | Calvary Chapel (CA) | Senior | 189 lbs. |
| 2010 | Beast of the East | Mark Grey | Blair Academy (NJ) | Junior | 125 lbs. |
| 2011 | National Preps | Joey McKenna | Blair Academy (NJ) | Freshman | 103 lbs. |
| 2011 | National Preps | Mark Grey | Blair Academy (NJ) | Junior | 125 lbs. |
| 2011 | National Preps | Evan Henderson | Kiski Prep (PA) | Senior | 140 lbs. |
| 2011 | Ironman | Randy Cruz | Bethlehem Catholic (PA) | Senior | 132 lbs. |
| 2011 | Beast of the East | Zach Epperly | Christiansburg (VA) | Junior | 160 lbs. |
| 2012 | National Preps | Dominic Malone | Wyoming Seminary (PA) | Senior | 126 lbs. |
| 2012 | Ironman | Zain Retherford | Benton (PA) | Senior | 138 lbs. |
| 2012 | Beast of the East | Kyle Snyder | Good Counsel (MD) | Junior | 220 lbs. |
| 2013 | National Preps | Kyle Snyder | Good Counsel (MD) | Junior | 220 lbs. |
| 2013 | Ironman | Spencer Lee | Franklin Regional (PA) | Freshman | 113 lbs. |
| 2013 | Beast of the East | Zeke Moisey | Bethlehem Catholic (PA) | Senior | 126 lbs. |
| 2014 | National Preps | Matt Kolodzik | Blair Academy (NJ) | Junior | 126 lbs. |
| 2014 | Ironman | Anthony Vallencia | St. John Bosco (CA) | Senior | 170 lbs. |
| 2014 | Ironman | Kevin Vought | Elyria (OH) | Sophomore | 285 lbs. |
| 2014 | Beast of the East | Myles Martin | McDonogh (MD) | Senior | 182 lbs. |
| 2015 | National Preps | Matt Kolodzik | Blair Academy (NJ) | Senior | 138 lbs. |
| 2015 | Ironman | Jack Mueller | Trinity Christian (TX) | Senior | 120 lbs. |
| 2015 | Beast of the East | Ben Darmstadt | Elyria (OH) | Senior | 195 lbs. |
| 2016 | National Preps | Brandon Dallavia | Blair Academy (NJ) | Senior | 170 lbs. |
| 2016 | Ironman | Sammy Sasso | Nazareth (PA) | Junior | 145 lbs. |
| 2016 | Beast of the East | Michael Beard | Malvern Prep (PA) | Junior | 182 lbs. |
| 2017 | National Preps | Chase Singletary | Blair Academy (NJ) | Senior | 220 lbs. |
| 2017 | Ironman | Michael Colaiocco | Blair Academy (NJ) | Junior | 120 lbs. |
| 2017 | Beast of the East | Pat Glory | Delbarton (NJ) | Senior | 126 lbs. |
| 2018 | National Preps | Colin Lawler | Kinkaid (TX) | Senior | 285 lbs. |
| 2018 | Ironman | Ryan Anderson | Bethlehem Catholic (PA) | Senior | 145 lbs. |
| 2018 | Ironman | Colton Schultz | Ponderosa (CO) | Senior | 285 lbs. |
| 2018 | Beast of the East | Julian Ramirez | Blair Academy (NJ) | Senior | 170 lbs. |
| 2019 | National Preps | Michael Colaiocco | Blair Academy (NJ) | Senior | 126 lbs |
| 2019 | National Preps | Isaac Righter | Mt. St. Joseph (MD) | Junior | 285 lbs |
| 2019 | Ironman | Drew Munch | Wyoming Seminary (PA) | Senior | 132 lbs. |
| 2019 | Beast of the East | Manzona Bryant | Western Reserve Academy (OH) | Senior | 145 lbs. |
| 2020 | National Preps | Shane Van Ness | Blair Academy | Junior | 132 lbs. |
| 2021 | Beast of the East | Leo DeLuca | Blair Academy | Freshman | 113 lbs. |