Cole Konrad is Big Ten Athlete of the Year

Minnesota wrestler Cole Konrad was named the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year while Ohio State basketball star Jessica Davenport was selected as the Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year. The Big Ten Athletes of the Year are selected by a panel of conference media members from nominations submitted by each institution.

Cole Konrad concluded his career on the Golden Gopher mats as one of the greatest wrestlers in Minnesota history. A winner of his second-straight national championship in 2007 – a year when he also guided the Gophers to the NCAA team title – Konrad finished as just the fifth four-time All-American grappler in school history. This past season, he became the fifth Minnesota wrestler to win three Big Ten individual championships and was just the third grappler in conference history to win two Big Ten Wrestler of the Year awards. Ending his collegiate career with a record of 155-13 and a 76-match winning streak, which is a school best and the 13th longest in Division I history, the heavyweight became the first wrestler in school annals to post two undefeated seasons in a career.

The Freedom, Wis., native is the second Minnesota wrestler to win the coveted conference award as Damion Hahn was honored as the Big Ten’s top male athlete in 2004. In addition to Hahn, Konrad joins gymnast John Roethlisberger (1993) and hockey standout Jordan Leopold (2002) as Golden Gophers who have received the conference’s highest honor.