Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
 
MAC Wrestler of the Week
Mason Smith, Central Michigan—Sophomore, Clio, Mich. (Clio High School)
 
Central Michigan sophomore Mason Smith went 6-0 to win his weight class at the 55th Ken Kraft Midlands Invitational, hosted by Northwestern. Smith, who was seeded first in the tournament, defeated Cole Weaver of Indiana, 6-0, in the title match after posting a 5-4 victory over Bucknell’s Tyler Smith in the semifinals. Both Weaver (13th) and Tyler Smith (16th) entered the tournament nationally ranked ahead of Mason Smith, who is 20th. Smith outscored his six tournament opponents, 34-6, and improved to 24-3 on the season.

Additional Nominees:
Bryan Lantry, Buffalo—Junior, Walworth, N.Y. (Wayne High School)
 
Buffalo junior Bryan Lantry finished second at Midlands in the 133-lb. weight class. It was the best finish ever by a Buffalo wrestler at the prestigious event. Lantry beat Giovanni Ghione of Penn in the first round and followed with a 5-3 decision over No. 11 Dresden Simon of Central Michigan. He upset No. 3 Korbin Myers of Edinboro in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Lantry rallied to upset No. 2 Scott Delvecchio of Rutgers, 4-3. Lantry got a third-period takedown and rode out Delvecchio for the victory. Lantry lost to top-seed Seth Gross of South Dakota State in the championship match.
 
Jaydin Eierman, Missouri—Sophomore, Columbia, Mo. (Father Tolton High School)
 
Missouri sophomore Jaydin Eierman at 141-lbs., put the exclamation point of Mizzou’s weekend at the South Beach Duals, as the Tiger sophomore ended the tournament with a 9-6 win over Cornell’s No. 1-ranked Yianni Diakomihalis. Eierman trailed in the bout, 5-3, with 30 seconds remaining when he took the top-ranked wrestler down and brought him to his back for a four-point near-fall to seal the match. The win finished off a 4-0 weekend for Eierman, who recorded three bonus point victories in his early matches. On Friday, Dec. 29, Eierman defeated Kent State’s Tim Rooney by fall (1:28) before upending North Carolina’s No. 18-ranked AC Headlee by major decision, 15-5. On Sunday, Dec. 30, Eierman beat Rider’s Tyson Dippery by technical fall, 19-3, before defeating Diakomihalis.
 
Larry Early, Old Dominion—Sophomore, Oak Park, Ill.
 
Old Dominion sophomore Larry Early earned an eighth-place finish at the historic Midlands Tournament hosted by Northwestern. The redshirt sophomore tallied one tech fall, two major decisions, one decision, and one medical forfeit en route to his eighth-place finish. Early was the only Old Dominion wrestler to place.