Spencer Lee Presented 90th AAU James E. Sullivan Award in Iowa

Article originally posted by University of Iowa Athletics here. 

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior Spencer Lee was presented with the AAU James E. Sullivan Award on Saturday, December 12, prior to the Iowa Football game at Kinnick Stadium. The presentation was streamed live on Game Day Live at hawkeyesports.com.

The AAU Sullivan Award has been presented annually since 1930 to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Lee was named co-winner of the award in April with Oregon women’s basketball player Sabrina Ionescu. Wes Creason, National Chair for AAU Wrestling, present Lee the award at approximately 1:30 p.m. (CT).

Lee is the fifth wrestler in the history of the award to be recognized. He joins Bruce Baumgartner, Rulon Gardner, John Smith and Kyle Snyder as past amateur wrestling award winners.

Lee is a two-time NCAA champion and winner of the 2020 Hodge Trophy. He claimed the 2019 U.S. Senior National Championship and was the No. 1 seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships after dominating the 125-pound weight class. He outscored his opponents, 234-18, recording bonus points in 17 of 18 wins, including four first-period falls and nine technical falls. He averaged 5.0 team points per match and was named NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.

Lee is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honorees and a three-time member of the NWCA All-Academic team.

The AAU Sullivan Award has been presented annually since 1930 to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Representatives from the AAU created the Sullivan Award with the intent to recognize amateur contributions and achievements from non-professional athletes across the country, including famed Olympians Michelle Kwan (2001), Michael Phelps (2003), Paul Hamm (2004) and Shawn Johnson (2008); University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning (1997), Penn State guard John Urschel (2013); 200m backstroke world record holder Missy Franklin (2012) and University of Wisconsin setter Lauren Carlini (2016).