In what he hopes to be the first of two times he will advance to the finals of a competition this week, Buckeye junior Kyle Snyder was named a finalist for the AAU's prestigious James E. Sullivan Award, which is given to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States each year.
Snyder is one of seven finalists for the award, which will be presented on April 11th at the New York Athletic Club.
Snyder earned the nomination thanks to his outstanding effort on the wrestling mat, representing both the Buckeyes and the United States of America. The junior hailing from Woodbine, Maryland earned Big Ten, NCAA, and Olympic titles in the past year to be nominated for the 87th Sullivan Award. Kyle is also the first active Buckeye student-athlete to win an Olympic medal since Jerry Lucas accomplished the feat with the basketball team in 1960.
The other finalists for the James E. Sullivan Award are water polo player Ashleigh Johnson, volleyball player Lauren Carlini, rifle competitor Ginny Thrasher, judoka Kayla Harrison, and gymnasts Laurie Hernandez and Aly Raisman.
Snyder is hoping to be the third Buckeye winner of the Sullivan Award as Ezekiel Elliott and gymnast Paul Hamm are recent recipients. In addition to few Buckeyes winning the award, Kyle would be just the fourth wrestler to win the award, joining fellow Olympic champions John Smith, Bruce Baumgartner, and Rulon Gardner.
Fans have the opportunity to vote for Snyder once daily beginning March 15th and ending on March 22nd.
