Ben Cherrington--Bronco male athlete of the year!
In a BroncoCountry summer poll following the conclusion of the 2005-06 school year, Boise State national champion wrestler Ben Cherrington has been named "Bronco Male Athlete of the Year". Cherrington, who became the second Bronco to win a national title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships when he won the National Championship at 157 pounds this past season, captured an overwhelming 56% of the vote to win the honor. All-American tackle Daryn Colledge was second in the poll. Other Boise State student-athletes nominated were All-American Mattias Jons in track and field, Thomas Schoeck in tennis and Coby Karl in basketball.
Cherrington, who was injured when the season began, recovered and went a perfect 20-0 upon his return with two pins. Of the 18 wins that went to scoring, Cherrington outscored his opponents by a combined 157-34, with 12 of those 34 points coming in an 18-12 decision over Iowa's Joe Johnston. Cherrington won his second PAC-10 Championship with a mild upset over Arizona State's Brian Stith and then defeated wrestlers from Iowa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State setting up a rematch with Stith in the National Championship match. Cherrington topped Stith again 7-3 to take home the National Championship to Boise.
Cherrington earned All-American status and was named the PAC-10 Wrestler of the Year, the first such honor for the Bronco program. He qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of his four years with the Broncos. Cherrington was 77-27 in his career at Boise State.