Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

MAC Wrestler of the Week:
Mack McGuire, Kent State—Junior, Upper St. Clair, Pa.

Kent State junior Mack McGuire won the 133-pound title Saturday at the Navy Classic, going 5-0.  Thirteen Division I teams competed in the tournament, including 20 wrestlers in McGuire’s bracket.  He began his day with a first period pin of North Carolina’s Alexander Rinaldi followed by a 10-0 major decision of George Mason’s Robert Dooley.  McGuire then topped Cleveland State’s Alfredo Gray 5-1 in the quarterfinals and defeated Navy’s Colton Rasche 6-2 in the semifinals.  McGuire’s closest match came in the finals as he downed Wisconsin's Ryan Taylor 6-3.  Taylor, who moved up a weight for the tournament was ranked No. 7 at 125 in three polls.

Additional Nominees:
Max Soria, Buffalo—Senior, Kings Park, N.Y. (Kings Park High School)

Buffalo senior Max Soria continued his hot start to the season last Sunday as he collected four wins en route to his second straight tournament championship as he earned the New York State Collegiate Championship title at 125-pounds. The title for Soria was his first NYS Championship. With the four wins, Soria kept his perfect 2014 record in tact as he is now 11-0 on the season including 3-0 in dual meets. He won two matches by major decision, a match by technical fall and a match by fall en route to the title at 125-pounds. Soria helped guide the Bulls to a fourth place finish out of 27 teams, their best finish in the tournament since 2012.

Shayne Wireman, Eastern Michigan—Sophomore, Lansing, Mich. (Holt High School)

Eastern Michigan sophomore Shayne Wireman represented the Eagles in the 125 lb. weight class at the Keystone Classic, making his way into the finals and securing the fourth tournament placing of his young career. The Lansing, Mich. native won three-straight matches, including a 16-6 major decision over Elliot Zackoski of Bloomsburg in the opening round of competition, before falling to Dom Forys of Pitt in a 4-0 decision to take home a second-place finish. Wireman's win led the Eagles to a third-place finish in the tournament, securing 14 of the Green and White's 89 total points. The sophomore grappler holds a 6-1 record on the young season and is a perfect 3-0 in duals.

Willie Miklus, Missouri—Redshirt Freshman, Altoona, Iowa

Missouri redshirt freshman Willie Miklus improved to 8-0 on the season at 184 pounds with a breakout 9-7 (SV1) Decision win over No. 2 ranked Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) on Nov. 23.  Six of Miklus’ eight wins this season have coma via Fall, including four of the pins coming under 1:30.  After being un-ranked in preseason media polls, Miklus skyrocketed up the recent rankings including now sitting at No. 10 (Intermat), 13th (The Open Mat) and 16th (WIN Magazine) at 184 pounds.

Derek Elmore, Northern Illinois—Senior, Loves Park, Ill. (Harlem High School)

Northern Illinois senior Derek Elmore kept his strong start to the season going Saturday at the Huskie Duals. The Loves Park, Ill., native opened the day with a first period pin of Buena Vista's Ernesto Garcia, then stuck Giuseppe Penzone of Tiffin in 25 seconds - the fastest pin for the Huskies this season. In four weeks, Elmore has a team-best 11-3 record with eight pins and has accounted for 42 team dual points.

Dylan Peters, Northern Iowa—Sophomore, Denver, Iowa

Northern Iowa sophomore Dylan Peters took only about three minutes to pin two dual opponents this weekend. The 125-pound All-American notched 18 falls last season to tie for fourth among all Panthers for the most falls in a single season. He has four first-period falls this season and a tech fall. This weekend he pinned Erique Early of Indiana Tech in 2 minutes, 1 second and got a fall over Aaron Assad of Purdue in 1:08. Peters remains undefeated this season at 6-0. He hasn't wrestled a MAC dual yet.

Tywan Claxton, Ohio—Junior, South Euclid, Ohio (Brush High School)

Ohio junior Tywan Claxton represented Ohio in the 149-class at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, MD, on Nov. 22, where he claimed his second tournament crown of the season. Claxton’s first place finish extends his undefeated season to 12-0. Two of his four victories at the Navy Classic were major decisions; a 12-4 win over Shawn Greevy of Chattanooga in the first round and a 9-1 major decision over Navy’s Corey Wilding in the finals.   Claxton’s first tournament triumph came on Nov. 2 at the Michigan State Open, where he defeated Perdue’s Brandon Nelsen to claim first. He also was the only Bobcat to win all three of his matches at the Eastern Michigan Duels.

Tristan Warner, Old Dominion—Senior, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (Cumberland Valley HS)

Old Dominion senior Tristan Warner was the only wrestler to pick up a win against Missouri, as he defeated Cody Johnston by a 15-5 major decision. Warner controlled the match from the start, claiming two takedowns in the first period. In the second round, Warner increased his score to 7-3 after a reversal. In the final period, Warner put the nail in the coffin with a takedown and two nearfalls to claim the 15-5 major decision and four points for Old Dominion. Warner is now 6-0 to start the season. He won the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open earlier in the year.