Newman wrestler Kameron Frame was recently named College Male Athlete of the Year by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.
The honor was bestowed during the Greater Wichita Sports Banquet, which is an annual event that celebrates sports excellence in south-central Kansas. Nomination forms for the award were sent to the Greater Wichita area athletic directors in April, with members of the media voting to determine the finalists.
“I really didn’t see it coming, especially this season considering my accolades didn’t speak as well this year,” Frame says of the award. “This was the one season at Newman that I didn’t earn All-American (honors), and I ended up winning the award, so it did catch me off guard. But it is a real honor to know that all my hard work does pay off and there are people who recognize how truly hard we work.”
This past season, Frame, a two-time All American, qualified for his third straight NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance, where he went 1-2, finishing the season with a 12-5 record.
“This past season didn’t go as planned, but that’s OK, because we still have another try to win that national title,” he says. “I’ve come up short a couple of times, but we’re still going for it.”
Frame also earned the MIAA Scholar-Athlete Award, was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and was an All-MIAA 2nd team selection.
Wrestling at Newman
Frame, a redshirt senior from Goddard, Kansas, spent his freshman year at the University of Wyoming but decided to transfer to Newman University because he wanted to be in his “own backyard wrestling.”
“I wanted to be able to make my own city proud,” he says.
And he’s never regretted that decision. Frame feels he’s found a great amount of success as an athlete at Newman and has developed strong bonds with his wrestling teammates and coaches.
“It’s literally just a family. Not everyone is from this area, we’re from all over, but we all act like we’ve grown up together. And it’s been very helpful to have coaches who truly care about you and want the best for you, whether that’s on the mat or off the mat.”
Career beyond college
As a redshirt, Frame technically graduated this past year with his bachelor’s degree in management information systems and a minor in business data analytics but has another year of eligibility to wrestle. He’s currently working on applying to the Master of Business Administration program at Newman, through which he hopes to concentrate on data analytics.
Although the 2021-22 wrestling season hasn’t officially started yet, Frame already has his eye on the prize — a national title — and has nothing but support from head wrestling coach Ryan Smith.
“Kameron has had an awesome career at Newman so far,” Smith says. “He’s got one year left to finish what he wants to do, and that’s being a three-time All-American — and hopefully a national champ.”
