Jason Chamberlain Wins 2008 Dave Schultz High School Excellence National Award

STILLWATER, Okla. — Jason Chamberlain, a high school senior from Springville High School in Springville, Utah, has been selected as the national winner of the 2008 Dave Schultz High School Excellence National Award presented by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.

The High School Excellence Award is named in honor of Olympic and World Champion Dave Schultz. Each award recipient is evaluated on excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service.

Chamberlain was selected from the 49 state winners and five regional winners that were announced earlier this week.

“I was shocked when they told me I had been selected for this award,” Chamberlain said. “There are so many good wrestlers, to be selected is such an honor.”

His career record of 191-2 includes 98 pins and four state championships. He was a captain on his high school wrestling team and was honored by USA Wrestling-Utah as a Wrestler of the Year in 2007. He was a USA Wrestling Junior National Freestyle champion and Greco-Roman runner-up in 2007. In both 2006 and 2007, he was the National High School Coaches Association wrestling national champion. He has been the recipient of the Academic All-Region Award from the Utah High School Activities Association the past four years.

He has served as a Teachers Aid in Sports Medicine classes and as a volunteer youth leader at his local church. He has spent numerous volunteer hours coaching and officiating youth wrestling activities, and was a camp counselor for the Rulon Gardner summer camp. He carries a 3.75 GPA and will be attending Boise State University next fall as a student-wrestler. He is projected to wrestle at 141 pounds in college.

“The selection committee felt that Jason combined an impressive balance of excellence in his academic and wrestling credentials while being an active participant in school activities and giving back to his community in the form of community service,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.

Chamberlain will attend Honors Weekend on May 30-31 to personally accept the award. He is only the second Utahn to be selected for this national honor.  Following is a list of previous award winners:

Dave Schultz High School Excellence National Winners

• 1996 David Kjeldgaard, Lewis Central High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa

• 1997 Jeff Knupp, Walsh Jesuit High School, Akron, Ohio

• 1998 Garrett Lowney, Freedom High School, Appelton, Wisconsin and Justin Ruiz, Taylorsville High School, Slat Lake City, Utah

• 1999 Zach Roberson, Blue Valley North West High School, Overland Park, Kansas

• 2000 Ben Connell, Lugoff-Elgin High School, Lugoff, South Carolina

• 2001 Steven Mocco, Blair Academy, Blairstown, New Jersey

• 2002 Teyon Ware, Edmond North High School, Edmond, Oklahoma

• 2003 C. P. Schlatter, St. Paul Graham High School, Urbana, Ohio

• 2004 Coleman Scott, Waynesburg High School, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania

• 2005 Troy Nickerson, Chenango Forks High School, Chenango Forks, New York

• 2006 David Craig, Brandon High School, Brandon, Florida

• 2007 Zachary Sanders, Wabasha-Kellog High School, Wabasha, Minnesota