Undefeated National Champion Nurrideen Ahmad-Statts 2W7 Named Athlete of the Year
There have been plenty of great athletes in the history of Williamson College of the Trades' athletics. Many in that group have gone on to win the school's prestigious Walter J. McCarty 3W7 Athlete of the Year award. Multiple time All-Americans, conference Player of the Year award winners, national statistical leaders, all-time leading scorers, 1,000-yard receivers. You name it, the award has covered just about every base as far as athletic achievements go.
This year's winner, however, did something that no one had ever done before in the history of Williamson. Junior wrestler Nurrideen Ahmad-Statts completed this past season as the first undefeated national champion in school history. For that storied accomplishment, he was named the 2025-26 Walter J. McCarty 3W7 Athlete of the Year award winner, the highest honor offered annually by the Williamson Athletic Department.
"What Nurrideen accomplished is almost beyond comprehension," shared Williamson Director of Athletics Susan Moffitt. "For Nurrideen to do what he did on a national stage in the way he did, it is something that all of Williamson is proud of. No one is more deserving of this honor than he is."
To put things in perspective, at the 2026 National Collegiate Wrestling Association national championships, Williamson was one of 97 teams that participated. The event, which included over 700 wrestlers, is the largest post-secondary wrestling event in the country. Many of the colleges and universities have enrollments ten, twenty or even thirty times larger than Williamson.
Yet, when the event was finished, there on the top of the podium at the 184-pound division was none other than Ahmad-Statts. Not only did he win the national championship, but he did so in resounding fashion, steamrolling Edward Davis from West Chester via an 18-0 technical fall to claim the title.
He went 6-0 at nationals, with his closest match being his semi-final bout, a 10-5 decision against Mathias Collins of Menlo University. Other than that, he won either via pin, technical fall, or major decision.
When asked about what makes Ahmad-Statts so special, Williamson head coach Ron Frank responded:
"Nurrideen has a rare gift of strength and length. He's exceptional in the top position and most people choose bottom against him, not knowing how good he is from the top position.
"After last year's journey, Nurrideen made a commitment to get better on his feet. Alexander Gamble-Williams (senior All-American wrestler) played a big part in his progression on his feet with his offensive and defensive moves. And, of course, it didn't hurt having two-time national finalist Talon Pisarchuk as one of his coaches."
A two-time Delaware high school state champion, Frank admitted he knew very little about Ahmad-Statts when he first arrived on campus.
"I knew of him, but didn't know much about him. He then got hurt early on and missed most of the first semester his freshman year," shared Frank.
"He picked things up in the second semester, and even though he didn't win the conference championship, he was still seeded 15th at 174 pounds last year."
It was at last year's NCWA national championships that Ahmad-Statts caught the attention of the wrestling world. He knocked off the #2, #3, and #7 seeds to advance to the national finals at 174 pounds, where he lost to #1 seed Ledger Petracek of Menlo University 8-1.
This season it was all Ahmad-Statts all the time, as he made the transition from 174 pounds to 184 pounds with ease.
"Honestly, he was so good, I feel he could have won the title at 174, 184, or even 197 pounds this year," shared Frank. "He was that good. No one works harder than he does. There is simply no substitute for hard work."
Whereas he did not win the NCWA Mid East conference championship in 2025, he did so this year in resounding fashion, pinning his opponent in just 36 seconds to claim that title. He then kept things going at NCWA nationals to do what no other Williamson wrestler had ever done in becoming an undefeated national champion.
Additional awards earned by him this season included being named to the USCAA National All-Academic team, as well as being named and NCWA Academic award winner.
"I'm humbled by this honor," Ahmad-Statts shared with his fellow Williamson student-athletes and those in attendance. "This means a lot and I am thankful for this. It is an honor to represent Williamson on a national stage."
Speaking of a national stage, what cannot be mentioned enough is the incredible job that Williamson head coach Ron Frank and assistant coaches Joe Silvestri, Paul Louth, Talon Pisarchuk, and Chase Whartnaby have done in building the wrestling program to national prominence. Taking over a wrestling program in shambles prior to his arrival, tiny little Williamson under Franks' tutelage has had a winning record in each of the six seasons he has coached, and has had a wrestler in the national finals for four straight years!
"If you listened to the national broadcast of Nurrideen's championship bout this year, you heard the announcer say that Ron is more than just a coach, he is a 'builder of men.' That announcer could not have been more spot on," shared 37-year former Director of Athletics Dale Plummer, who hired Frank.
"I might not have done many things right during my time, but I hit a grand slam with Ron's hire," beamed Plummer. "There were 37 guys on the team each of the past two years and to a man, each of those men will tell you to a man what an honor it is to wrestle for Ron and his staff."
The good news for Williamson is that while the team loses several key seniors, Ahmed-Statts and several other key wrestlers return for next season. What remains to be seen is what weight class Ahmad-Statts will wrestle at, but one thing is for certain, whatever weight class it is, the wrestling world has officially been put on notice!
(The above article was written by former Williamson Director of Athletics Dale Plummer, who retired July 1, 2025 after holding the position for 37 years.)
