The National Wrestling Media Association (NWMA) named Pitt-Johnstown's Chris Caputo the 2019-20 Small College Sports Information Director of the Year when it announced its annual award winners on Tuesday.

The NWMA is the national professional organization for journalists who cover the sport of amateur wrestling. This includes reporters, editors, publishers, webmasters, photographers, broadcasters, athletic communications professionals and other media professionals who share an interest and involvement in the sport. The organization was founded in 1989.

This past offseason, the NWMA opted to reorganize several awards categories, and develop new categories  that recognize and celebrate the advances and innovations from the sport's media outlets. 

This year's honorees include two innovators in wrestling coverage from both the print and online industries, a familiar voice, a new voice, a prominent beat writer, breakthrough performances and longtime sports information professionals. 

Small College SID of the Year: Chris Caputo, Pitt-Johnstown
Chris Caputo grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and for the past 22 years, he's been back in his hometown as the Sports Information Director at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. Caputo was thrust immediately into the legacy of Pitt-Johnstown wrestling, as his first year on the job, the Mountain Cats won the NCAA Division II national championship. Caputo's handled the media duties for numerous regional championships in Johnstown and has coordinated events around the legendary Carlton Haselrig and coach Pat Pecora, who last year set the college wrestling record for most dual meet wins as a college wrestling coach. Caputo manages 15 sports as a one-man shop at Pitt-Johnstwn but still finds time to work on a number of committees for the school and wrestling. Consistently one of the top SIDs regardless of division, Caputo's level of professionalism and his attention to detail with wrestling continues to make him one of the best in the country.

NWMA on Caputo: "Chris is always a true professional and has always provided fantastic coverage for perennial D2 power Pitt-Johnstown for so many years. We are fortunate to have SIDs like Chris in D2 wrestling. We truly appreciate his great work to promote and support our sport."
 
The following is the complete list of NWMA 2019-20 Award Winners
 
Jay Hammond Memorial Service Award: Dan McCool, Des Moines Jay Hammond Memorial Service Award: Justin Tritz, Trackwrestling
RegisterOutlet of the Year: PA Power Wrestling
Journalist of the Year: Tom Housenick, The Morning Call, Allentown, PA
Broadcaster of the Year: Shane Sparks, Big Ten Network
Photographer of the Year: Richard Immel, Trackwrestling
Podcast of the Year: Wrestling Changed My Life hosted by Ryan Warner
Division I SID of the Year: Stacie Michaud, Navy
Small College SID of the Year: Chris Caputo, Pitt-Johnstown
Spotlight Award for Innovative Journalism: Brant Parsons, Orlando Sentinel

About the National Wrestling Media Association
The National Wrestling Media Association (NWMA) is the national professional organizations for journalists who cover the sport of amateur wrestling. This includes reporters, editors, publishers, webmasters, photographers, broadcasters, sports information directors and other media professionals who share an interest and involvement in the sport.
 
The NWMA represents the interests of journalists within the sport of wrestling. It shall be a resource for its members for networking and information sharing. In addition, the NWMA will strive to support the growth of wrestling and its position within the sports world and the general public by developing more quality coverage of the sport through all available media outlets. A focus on the history of the world's oldest sport and accuracy in reporting on wrestling is the foundation of the organization's mission.
 
The National Wrestling Media Association was founded in 1989. Membership inquiries and organizational information can be found at nationalwrestlingmedia.com