Conference weekend shook things up a bit and made one thing even more clear than it already was - it's a two-pony race for the Hodge Trophy Award this year - Spencer Lee and Gable Steveson. 

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A reminder - the Dan Hodge Trophy uses seven criteria when determining the season's best wrestler. They are presented below in the order of importance. 

1. Record

2. Number of pins

3. Dominance

4. Past credentials

5. Quality of competition

6. Sportsmanship/citizenship

7. Heart

Below you will find the rankings along with an explanation and some numbers. The dominance score is an average of how many team points a wrestler accrues every time they step on the mat. 

Why Spencer Is #1

Spencer Lee remains in the top spot over Gable Steveson because quality of competition is the #5 criteria. Gable clearly leads in that criteria, but Spencer leads in criteria #2, #3, and #4. They are both tied in criteria #1 #6 and #7. Now, Gable's superior quality of competition might just be enough to put him above Spencer if he continues his dominance and Spencer doesn't tech or pin his way through the NCAA tournament. For now, however, Spencer remains #1. Inferior opponents or not, teching/pinning your way through a season is unprecedented. 

Honorable Mention

The following guys are just barely on the outside looking in of the top ten at this point.

Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan)

Anthony Valencia (Arizona State)

Zach Hartman (Bucknell)

Jaret Lane (Lehigh)

Lou Deprez (Binghamton)