Photo courtesy of Mya Graybill.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MEN’S SCHALLES AWARD RECIPIENT GANON SMITH AND ETOWN HEAD COACH ERIC WALKER.
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Annual Awards Issue, which published May 5, 2026.
Until now, just four non-Division I wrestlers, and only one Division III student-athlete (Marcus LeVesseur) had ever been named WIN Magazine’s Schalles Award winner as the top collegiate pinner in the 27-year history of the award.
One more name can be added to both of those lists, as Ganon Smith of Elizabethtown College (Pa.) has been named the 2026 recipient of the prestigious award.
Smith, a native of Newport, Pa., compiled a 40-1 record in his senior campaign for the Blue Jays while reaching the NCAA DIII finals. He racked up 30 pins, good for a 75% pin rate.
“The award itself is just outstanding,” Smith said. “I didn’t even know I was up for the award, and I had to text my coach to ask if this was a scam. I was almost in tears seeing that, and it feels pretty amazing.”
The Schalles Award, named after the legendary Wade Schalles, who won NCAA titles for Clarion State (Pa.) in 1972 and 1973, pinned 109 collegiate foes and won 153 of his 159 career bouts. Schalles went on to be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1991.
“Ganon Smith is relentlessly aggressive and always hunting the fall, never content to sit back and win by points,” Schalles said. “He is long, strong, and confident in every position. Don’t let him under your armpits if you want to win the match. And he obviously thrives in chaos and turns it into control.”
Elizabethtown College head coach Eric Walker, who admitted the gray in his beard and his blood pressure fluctuations may be attributed to Smith’s unorthodox style and affinity for coming out on top in precarious positions, was ecstatic to hear one of his veteran team leaders secured such a prestigious honor.
“It couldn’t have happened to a greater individual,” Walker said. “He is a man of faith and does things the right way. He is a great ambassador of the sport for Elizabethtown College and the sport in general.
“This year was special. He looked like he was in a race to finish the matches as fast as possible. He has got a really interesting style. He is a guy who comes from humble beginnings and put the work in. It gives other guys confidence to believe they can do big things like this as well.”
Smith went on to say that his approach to the sport, which has evolved throughout his career, became to seek a pin to get off the mat as fast as possible to avoid the possibility of anything going wrong.
“I like to get on and off the mat as fast as possible because there is less chance of going up in points and then getting stuck. If you pin the kid and get off the mat, there is less chance of things going wrong.”
