MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK
 
MAC East Division: Wrestler of the Week
Killian Cardinale, Old Dominion—Sophomore, Bristow, Va. (Brentsville District High School)
 
Old Dominion sophomore Killian Cardinale at 125 lbs., had a dominating weekend against two MAC opponents to start off eventual Old Dominion wins. Cardinale totaled 29 points in his two bouts, both of which he earned major decision victories. Against Edinboro's Lucas Rodriguez, the ranked Monarch earned six takedowns in a 15-5 victory. In Sunday's match against Clarion, Cardinale earned the 14-5 win by major decision.  Cardinale is ranked No. 14 in the latest TrackWrestling rankings.  Cardinale now sits at 18-7 on the season and is featured on four national polls.
 
Additional Nominees:
Luke Werner, Lock Haven—Junior, Bethlehem, Pa. (Bethlehem Catholic High School)
 
Lock Haven junior Luke Werner at 125 lbs., got the Bald Eagles going Saturday, Jan. 25 vs. nationally-ranked Army. Werner – ranked No. 15 – took down No. 24 Trey Chalifoux in dominating fashion. Werner scored a quick takedown and racked up 2:45 of riding time in the first period. He led 5-0 after two and extended his dominance to a 7-0 win, thanks in part to over three minutes of riding time.
 
 
MAC West Division: Wrestlers of the Week
Brock Mauller, Missouri—Sophomore, Columbia, Mo. (Father Tolton High School)
 
Missouri sophomore Brock Mauller at 149 lbs., won a pair of MAC bouts to help Mizzou clinch a share of its ninth straight Conference title and eighth straight in the MAC.  Mauller won both of his bouts over the weekend via major decision, first with a 10-1 win over McCoy Kent of Northern Illinois with 2:12 of riding time.  Followed his NIU win with a dominant 14-4 major decision over Gus Sutton of Cleveland State, piling up 3:25 of riding time.  Mauller is 20-1 on the season and ranked as high as fifth nationally following another dominant weekend.

Additional Nominees:
Ben Smith, Cleveland State—Sophomore, North Canton, Ohio (Hoover High School)
 
Cleveland State sophomore Ben Smith at 197 lbs., went 2-0 last weekend as the Vikings began a road trip with duals against a pair of MAC foes. In CSU's opening match at SIU Edwardsville, the Vikings held a tenuous 15-11 lead as Smith competed in the penultimate bout of the dual at 197 pounds. Just two minutes into the bout, Smith secured a pin over SIUE's Jake McKiernan to effectively clinch the team victory for the Vikings, their seventh of the season. In CSU's second matchup at nationally ranked Missouri, Smith defeated Wyatt Koelling, 3-1, with a takedown in the sudden-victory session. His win against the Tigers was his 21st of the season and came against an opponent listed among the top 20 in the national rankings by multiple outlets. Koelling had been listed third in the most recent MAC rankings, three spots ahead of Smith.
 
Anthony Gibson, Northern Illinois—Redshirt Freshman, Westland, Mich. (John Glenn High School)
 
Northern Illinois redshirt freshman Anthony Gibson at 141 lbs. posted a win over Missouri’s Grant Leeth.  After falling behind 2-0 in the first to returning All-American and 17th-ranked Grant Leeth of Missouri, Gibson responded to post a 3-2 victory over Leeth. Gibson earned an escape after the first period takedown to head into the second period down 2-1. Starting the second period in the bottom position, Gibson earned a quick escape to tie the match, 2-2, going into the final period. Gibson controlled the entire third period, riding out Leeth to win the match, 3-2. 
 
Jordan Earnest, Ohio—Redshirt Freshman, Wadsworth, Ohio (Wadsworth High School)
 
Ohio redshirt freshman Jordan Earnest at 285 lbs., helped the Bobcats (5-5, 3-2 MAC) pick up its third-straight MAC victory to close out the road portion of its 2019-20 regular season schedule as the Bobcats knocked off SIUE, 24-9, on Sunday, Jan. 26 at First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Ill. Earnest put an exclamation point on the afternoon for the Bobcats by earning a 6-4 win by decision over sophomore Colton McKiernan, a returning national qualifier, at 285 pounds to close out the dual. He improved to 15-7 overall on the season, 7-3 in dual meets and 4-1 in MAC competition.