To honor Alex Dieringer's Hodge Trophy season, I'd like to reflect on his outstanding career from beginning to end.

Let's get started with 'Ringer's freshman year!

2012-2013 Full Freshman Results:

I distinctly remember wondering what to make of Dieringer's freshman season. On one hand, he finished third at the NCAA Championship as a freshman and only lost three matches (two to NCAA champion, Derek St. John). On the other hand, his best wins at that point were over Bonin, Bradley and Zilverberg. He didn't exactly navigate murderer's row to take third, so some (myself included) were very curious as to what to make of him moving forward.  

In a few years, James Vollrath will be the answer to a trivia question between wrestling buddies all around the country. Dieringer only fell to two guys in four years:  Derek St. John, Iowa's four-time All-American and NCAA champion, and James Vollrath, who was Dylan Alton's back up at 71kg (157 lbs). 

Here are a few of Dieringer's bigger matches from that year, including the famous Vollrath match:

'Ringer and Chris Perry Sparring:

'Ringer's First Bedlam Match:

2013-2014 Full Sophomore Results:

Alex Dieringer began to shift himself into the upper echelon during his sophomore year. He still struggled and lost to Derek St. John (which is interesting, since I always felt Dieringer matched up quite well against him) in their lone meeting, but it was the last loss Dieringer took in his collegiate career. From a 4-2 win over Ness in their dual to a dominating 13-4 major decision in the NCAA finals, Dieringer made significant progress after he posted his final loss. Although he showed signs of a pretty tough weight cut during the Southern Scuffle against Brian Realbuto, he still won.

After that, he went on a tear, bonusing seven out of the next nine opponents. Then, at the NCAA Championship, it all came together. First, he had a ridiculous shootout against Taffur before controlling Realbuto in the semifinals. In the finals, it was all Derringer. He stopped the ultra-dangerous Dylan Ness, who pinned the top-seeded James Green in the quarterfinals before taking out Ian Miller in the semifinals. Ness appeared to be headed for a Cindarella run to the title, but Dieringer hung 13 points on him, and the rest is history. The arena buzzed with comments on how enormous Derringer looked, and with the graduation of Tyler Caldwell, people began speculating his move up to 165 for the next year.

Here are a few of Dieringer's memorable matches from that sophomore year. 

The last loss of Dieringer's career:

Realbuto gave Dieringer a tight one at the Scuffle. 

CRAZY NCAA quarterfinal with Taffur!

Dieringer dominates NCAA finals against Ness:

2014-2015 Full Junior Results:

In my opinion, Dieringer's most impressive season of his career was his junior year. Once he came in at 75kg (165 lbs), he was much more dominant, winning by bonus points in 29 of 34 matches! That's an 85% bonus rate. Dieringer came into his junior year as one of the biggest favorites to win the NCAA title, and he more than lived up to that billing.  

His closest match of his entire year was his NCAA semifinal against Bo Jordan (he's good), where he won 6-1! Dieringer was so dominant that there was a large contingent voting him for the Hodge Trophy over four-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber. Dieringer was a man among boys his junior year -- no drama, no close matches, just 'Ringer getting his hand raised.

Dieringer's semifinal win over Bo Jordan:

Another NCAA final, another Dieringer beat-down:

2015-2016 Full Senior Results:

We saw a continuation of excellence from Dieringer during his senior year, when he wasn't afraid to admit that the Hodge Trophy was one of his goals for the year.  He couldn't quite repeat the remarkable streak of dominance he enjoyed during his junior season, eking out ahead in a close match where he completely widened the gap the next time around. Daniel Lewis rode Dieringer for four straight minutes in the Missouri dual at Oklahoma State, but Dieringer went on to beat Lewis 14-4 in the NCAA semifinals.

In the finals, Dieringer was at his best once again. For four straight years, he was able to elevate his game to the highest level for the NCAA championship. From his freshman year, when he was the No. 6 seed and placed third, to his final three seasons where he went completely unchallenged from start to finish in the NCAA tournament. You could say he was favored in all those matches and did what he was supposed to do, but to that, I say this: Every year at the NCAA championship, the best guys falter, and many competitors don't live up to their potential, let alone exceed it. Dieringer stepped up not just in one round or one year -- he elevated his game when it mattered the most for three straight years.  

Now, he's setting his sights on the 74kg (165 lbs) Olympic berth. He'll enter the Olympic Trials in an unfamiliar role: the underdog. I am excited to see how he responds to the pressure, as well as how the next chapter of his career unfolds. The last four years have been a blast to follow.

Dieringer discusses Hodge goal:

Dieringer's only test of the year, a 4-3 win over Daniel Lewis:

Dieringer taught Lewis a lesson the next time around:

Dieringer brings home title No. 3: