As some of you will undoubtedly remember, Bob Cairns was one of the pioneers in developing the youth wrestling programs in the Southern Plains region. Upon his death in 1995, the states in our region decided to recognize one wrestler from each state every year to receive the Bob Cairns Distinguished Wrestler Award.

The winning wrestler is selected by his team’s coaches and directors based on his/her unselfish dedication to and love for the sport of wrestling. Bob was always more concerned with effort and attitude than he was with winning and losing, and the award is given to the wrestlers with the types of attitude that Bob would have been the most enthusiastic about.

This year’s recipients of the Bob Cairns Award were as follows:
Colorado - Kendall Rutz
Missouri - Joseph Velliquette
New Mexico - Marcus Olguin
Oklahoma - Nolan Boyd
Texas - Greg Wilson
Kansas - Zack Tanenbaum