MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK
MAC East Division: Wrestler of the Week
Kyle Shoop, Lock Haven—Senior, Boiling Springs, Pa. (Boiling Springs High School)
Lock Haven senior Kyle Shoop at 141 lbs. went 2-0 in a pair of MAC Eastern Division duals. In Lock Haven’s win over longtime rival Edinboro, Shoop recorded a first-period tech fall (1:45, 16-0) over Richie Gomez. He scored a quick takedown and put a on a top-position show from there. Shoop’s win made it 13-3 Lock Haven and never looked back in a dominating 25-13 team victory over the Fighting Scots. Despite a narrow loss to Rider in a MAC East thriller Friday night, Shoop was once again a big-time winner. In a battle of top-33 wrestlers, Shoop – ranked No. 20 - pulled rank and rolled by No. 29 Peter Lipari (Rider), by major decision 12-4. The 2-0 week pushed Shoop’s career win total to 125, which moved him into second-place all-time at Lock Haven for career victories.
Additional Nominees:
Troy Keller, Buffalo—Senior, North Tonawanda, N.Y. (North Tonawanda High School)
Buffalo senior Troy Keller at 165 lbs. won his 14th straight dual by pinning Central Michigan’s Blake Montrie on Friday night. Keller dominated the entire match and was finally able to turn Montrie and pin him with just four seconds left in the match. It was the fifth match in the last six duals that Keller earned bonus points, including his second pin.
MAC West Division: Wrestlers of the Week
Max Ihry, Northern Illinois—Junior, Naperville, Ill. (Waubonsee Valley High School)
Northern Illinois junior Max Ihry at 285 lbs. helped lead the Huskies to a pair of MAC victories last weekend with a pair of wins. On Friday, he closed out the 24-6 team win with a 4-3 decision over John Kelbly of Cleveland State. His win on Sunday put an exclamation point on the win over Ohio as he took down the Bobcats’ Jordan Earnest, who is ranked 30th in last NCAA Coaches Panel ranking, to close out the 31-6 team victory. The win was the first for NIU (11-4, 6-2) over the Bobcats since Jan. 18, 2008 and the Huskies' 11 wins this season are the most since the 2007-08 NIU wrestling team went 11-7. The Huskies won eight of the 10 bouts on the day, including four bonus point wins. The Huskie junior improved to 14-9 on the season and 8-4 in MAC competition.
Additional Nominees:
Landon Pelham, Central Michigan—Junior, Tecumseh, Mich. (Tecumseh High School)
Central Michigan junior Landon Pelham at 197 lbs. went 2-0 to help the Chippewas win a pair of MAC dual meets and ran its dual-meet win streak to five. Pelham posted a 4-2 victory over Sam Schuyler to break a 15-15 tie and help the Chippewas to a 24-15 victory over Buffalo on Friday. On Sunday, Pelham scored a 3-1 win over Colin McCracken of Kent State in a 27-12 win. McCracken entered the match having won five of his previous six matches, including one by pin and another by major decision. Pelham, who is ranked sixth in the MAC, improved to 17-10, including 6-3 in MAC matches.
Wyatt Koelling, Missouri—Junior, Kaysville, Utah (Davis High School)
Missouri junior Wyatt Koelling at 197 lbs. defeated a top-15 wrestler in No. 11 Kordell Norfleet of Arizona State, improving him to 18-5 on the season. Ranked No. 23 nationally at 197 pounds, Koelling controlled the bout against the 11th-ranked Norfleet, earning the 3-1 decision while not allowing a takedown against. In Sunday’s dual vs. No. 5 Arizona State started at 165 pounds, as Mizzou faced wrestlers ranked in the national top-11 of their respective weight classes in the first six bouts of the dual. Koelling was the only Tiger in that stretch to win a bout, which was huge as Mizzou went into the final bout just five points down and had a chance to win the dual with a pin thanks to Koelling’s huge upset of Norfleet. The win snapped a personal two-bout losing streak for Koelling, who is now 6-2 since the calendar year switched to 2020.
Shakur Laney, Ohio—Senior, Canal Winchester, Ohio (Pickerington North High School)
Ohio senior Shakur Laney at 141 lbs. won both of his bouts on Sunday, Feb. 9 as the Bobcats (6-8, 4-4 MAC) hosted a pair of dual meets at the Convocation Center. In the afternoon’s first match, Laney notched a 9-5 win by decision over sophomore Anthony Gibson at 141 pounds as the Bobcats fell to MAC foe Northern Illinois, 31-6. He then earned an 11-3 major decision win over redshirt freshman Clay Carlson at 141 in Ohio’s 28-9 loss to non-conference opponent South Dakota State in the second match of the day. Laney has now picked up wins in six of Ohio's last seven duals, including five in a row.
