MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK
MAC East Division: Wrestler of the Week
Luke Werner, Lock Haven—Junior, Bethlehem, Pa. (Liberty High School)
Lock Haven junior Luke Werner made an exciting run to the 125-pound Southern Scuffle finals on Jan. 1-2. The No. 6 seed finished second overall after going 4-1 in the top-level mid-year tournament. Werner’s only loss came in the finals after he fell to the top-seed. It marked the Bald Eagles second straight year with a Southern Scuffle finalist and Werner’s second-place showing helped Lock Haven finish 10th in the team standings.
On Jan. 1, Werner returned to action for the first time since his redshirt was pulled on December 6 for the dual with Central Michigan and looked as if he hadn't missed a beat going 3-0. He recorded a major to open the day and earned a pin in the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Werner pinned Pitt's Colton Camacho in 6:23. On Jan. 2, Werner won by medical forfeit in the semifinals and booked his trip to the Southern Scuffle finals. He was awarded the semifinal-win over Old Dominion's Michael McGee, the No. 7 seed. In the finals, Werner faced off vs. top-seed Nick Piccininni of Oklahoma State, who is ranked fourth in the country at 125. Werner dropped the final to the top-seed (MD, 10-0).
Additional Nominees:
Shawn Orem, Bloomsburg—Junior, Pasadena, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph High School)
Bloomsburg junior Shawn Orem went 2-0 over the weekend to help the Huskies to their first two dual victories of the season. On Friday, Orem competed at 141 pounds and posted an 18-7 major decision victory over Long Island University’s Michael Blando to help the Huskies to a 40-3 win over the Sharks. It was Orem’s second major decision victory of the season. He wrestled at 133 pounds on Sunday at Hofstra and, with the dual starting at 141 pounds, competed in the last bout of the day. With Bloomsburg trailing 19-16 heading to the last match, Orem earned an 8-4 decision over Garrett Lambert to tie the dual at 19-19. Bloomsburg went on to win in the tiebreaker for its second win of the weekend. Orem improved to 9-5 overall with the two victories and has now won five straight matches. The two wins over the weekend were his first two dual bouts of the season.
Colston DiBlasi, George Mason—Senior, Kansas City, Mo. (Park Hill High School)
George Mason senior Colston DeBlasi at 149 lbs., finished third at the prestigious Southern Scuffle and won the Gorarrian Award, presented to the wrestler with the most pins in the shortest amount of time. In seven matches, DiBlasi had four pins in 15:59. DiBlasi won four straight matches on Wednesday, including a win by fall against No. 3 seed Russell Rohifinger from Cal State Bakersfield, before dropping the semifinal match in a close, 3-1, decision to eventual champion Jaden Abas. After a medical forfeit by Stanford's R. Van der Merwe, DiBlasi won by fall over App State's Jonathan Milner in the 3rd/4th place match.
Michael McGee, Old Dominion—Junior, Bolingbrook, Ill. (Plainfield East High School)
Old Dominion junior Michael McGee at 125 lbs., saw his first action of the year wrestling unattached at the Southern Scuffle this past week, and the reigning MAC champion picked up right where he left off last season. McGee took down three opponents on day one of the Southern Scuffle, including an 8-7 win by decision over No. 24 Fabian Gutierrez of Chattanooga, and a 5-4 win by decision over No. 7 Nic Aguilar of Rutgers to advance to the semifinal round. McGee was forced to medically forfeit his three bouts on day two, placing him sixth in the event. McGee came into the season ranked in the top-10 in four national polls; Intermat, WIN Magazine, FloWrestling and TrackWrestling.
MAC West Division: Wrestlers of the Week
Landon Pelham, Central Michigan—Junior, Tecumseh, Mich. (Tecumseh High School)
Central Michigan junior Landon Pelham at 197 lbs., pinned Virginia Tech’s Stanley Smeltzer in 3:21 and then posted a 5-3 victory over Gage Braun of Northern Illinois in a pair of weekend duals, the second which was on the road. Pelham improved to 13-8 on the season with four pins.
Additional Nominees:
Derek Spann, Buffalo—Junior, Boonville, N.Y.
Buffalo junior Derek Spann at 133 lbs., went 2-0 with two tech fall wins on Sunday. The 133-pounder didn’t even allow a point in either match. Spann beat Edinboro’s Tye Varndell, 19-0, in the opening dual on Sunday. He followed with a 17-0 tech fall of Gannon’s Andrew Ischo. In 11 duals on the season, Spann has won seven by tech fall. In his two matches, Spann had six 4-point nearfalls.
Evan Cheek, Cleveland State—Senior, Milan, Ohio (Edison High School)
Cleveland State senior Evan Cheek at 141 lbs., placed at a prestigious midseason event as the Vikings opened the New Year by competing in the Southern Scuffle. Cheek took seventh at 141 pounds as he placed at the event for the second time in his career. During the course of the event, he earned victories over Drexel's Julian Flores (15-1 MD), Rider's Pete Lipari (5-2 dec.), Oregon State's Grant Willits (8-0 MD) and N.C. State's Tariq Wilson (M. For.). Cheek now owns a record of 23-3 this season, which includes 13 bonus-point victories.
Anthony Gibson, Northern Illinois—Redshirt Freshman, Westland, Mich. (John Glenn High School)
Northern Illinois redshirt freshman Anthony Gibson at 141 lbs., played a key role in a 19-12 win over league foe No. 24 Central Michigan on Sunday, Jan 5. Gibson scored a 9-3 victory over No. 18-ranked Dresden Simon in the Huskies’ first win over the Chippewas since Jan. 31, 2003. After wrestling to a 0-0 first period tie, a Simon escape in the second period gave the CMU grappler the early lead. Gibson earned a second period takedown to take a 2-1 lead into the third period. An escape to open the third period allowed Gibson to open a 3-1 advantage. However, Simon posted a takedown to tie the match. A quick escape, takedown and two-point near fall by Gibson gave the Huskie a commanding 8-3 lead. The riding time point earned the Huskie redshirt freshman the 9-3 win and gave the Huskies a lead they would not relinquish. Gibson improved to 7-4 on the season, 3-0 in dual matches and 2-0 in MAC competition.
Jordan Earnest, Ohio—Redshirt Freshman, Wadsworth, Ohio (Wadsworth High School)
Ohio redshirt freshman Jordan Earnest at 285 lbs., accounted for one of two individual victories on Sunday, Jan. 5 as the Bobcats (2-4, 0-1 MAC) suffered a 35-6 loss to No. 20/23 Oklahoma at the Convocation Center in Athens. Earnest ended the dual on a high note for Ohio by getting a takedown as time expired in the third period to earn a 4-2 win by decision over redshirt freshman Josiah Jones.
