The Schalles Pennsylvania Pinner Award is presented each year to the high school wrestler with the highest pin percentage. If you would like to submit a wrestler for consideration, please email the wrestler's name, school, grade, weight, record, number of pins and number of forfeits to news@pawrestling.net.

Owen Wins Schalles PA Pinner Award

     Clearfield senior, Sean Owen, has been named the 2009 Schalles Pennsylvania Pinner Award winner.  Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Trophy Company, the award is presented each year by the Pennsylvania Wrestling Newsmagazine to the high school wrestler with the highest pin percentage.  To be eligible for the Schalles Award, a wrestler must qualify for the PIAA Championships and have a minimum of twenty bouts, excluding forfeits.
     After finishing the 2008 season as state champion, Owen pinned 34 of 42 opponents on his way to a third place finish at the PIAA Championships.  Owen finished the season 43-1 with an impressive pin percentage of 80.95% (excluding two forfeits which are not counted in pin percentage calculations).  Seven of Owen’s pins came in under twenty seconds with three pins in only nine seconds including a nine second pin at the PIAA Championships.  Owen strung together twenty three consecutive pins (excluding two forfeits) from the end of December through the beginning of February. 
     Spencer Myers (Selinsgrove) also had thirty four pins and a pin percentage identical to that of Owen.  The tiebreaking criteria of least aggregate time was used to determine the winner with Owen having only two minutes less time than Myers.  Westmont-Hilltop’s Zac Bennett finished the season just behind Owen and Myers with 32 pins in 40 bouts with a pin percentage of 80%.

Past Winners:
     2009-Sean Owen (Clearfield) 34 falls in 42 bouts
     2008-Ziad Haddad (Bethlehem Catholic) 31 falls in 37 bouts
     2007-Matt Yocco (Brandywine Heights) 32 falls in 46 bouts
     2006-Matt Yocco (Brandywine Heights) 38 falls in 47 bouts
     2005-Pat Flynn (Quakertown) 36 falls in 44 bouts
     2004-Scott McKillop (Kiski) 27 falls in 34 bouts and Mike Spaid (Boyertown) 31 falls in 37 bouts
     2003-Chris Snyder (Milton) 30 falls in 34 bouts
     2002-Kyle Cathcart (Clarion) 23 falls in 29 bouts
     2001-Troy Letters (Shaler) 29 falls in 38 bouts
     2000-Shain Legget (Biglerville)
     1999-Mike Pirozzola (Neshaminy) 30 falls in 38 bouts
     1998-Christian Luciano (Northampton)
     1997-Mike Shingara (Line Mountain) 32 falls in 37 bouts

Criteria:
     1. State qualifier AA/AAA in Pennsylvania
     2. Ranking and Award determined by pinning percentage
     3. Minimum of twenty matches, excluding forfeits
     4. All bouts count including post-season, except forfeits
     5. Tie decided by total number of falls and aggregate time

         The Schalles award is based on pin percentage as follows:
                     Pin % = #pins/#bouts
                     Forfeits are NOT counted
 

        Wondrous Wade Schalles
The Pennsylvania Pinner Award is named after "Wondrous Wade Schalles" who pinned 21 of 23 opponents his senior year at Hollidaysburg including returning state champ John "Bimbo" Chapman of Trinity in the 1969 PIAA State finals.
     Wade Kept the Pinning machine rolling at Clarion University where he pinned 106 foes becoming the first collegiate wrestler to ever exceed the century mark for career falls. He was a 2X NCAA Champion and voted the outstanding wrestler at the NCAA Tournament. He completed his career at Clarion with a 154-2-1 record, while both losses coming his freshman year. One loss was to Stan Dziedzic of Slippery Rock (Allentown Allen HS), an NCAA champion and Olympic Bronze Medalist in 1976, and the other to Bruce Trammel of Ohio University, an NCAA runner-up.