Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

MAC Wrestler of the Week
Drake Houdashelt, Missouri—Senior, O’Fallon, Mo.

Missouri senior Drake Houdashelt defeated two Top-10 wrestlers with a 6-3 decision vs. No. 8 Tywan Claxton (Ohio) on Dec. 13 and a Fall at 2:39 vs. No. 3 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) on Dec. 14. The two wins improved his 2014-15 record to a perfect 12-0, and his win against Stieber played a key role into Mizzou’s 20-19 dual win over No. 7 Ohio State. For the season, Houdashelt has already claimed three wins against ranked opponents with his two this past weekend and previous win over No. 11 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) on Nov. 23. Furthermore, the pin against Stieber was the redshirt senior’s 109th all-time win, placing him 11th in all-time wins in Mizzou wrestling history.

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

Buffalo senior Max Soria continued to impress on Sunday against Central Michigan as he picked up his second straight major decision victory to start the MAC dual meet season. Soria totally dominated Brent Fleetwood from Central Michigan as he won 10-0 and earned the Bulls four points. Soria controlled the match from the opening whistle as he earned the riding time point after accumulating 3:44 of riding time in the match. Soria entered the match ranked #12 nationally and should move higher this week after yet another strong performance. Soria finished with three takedowns while moving his overall record to a career-best 15-1 on the season. His dual meet record increased to 7-1 while he now has 75 career victories for the blue and white at 125-pounds.

Armando Torres, Eastern Michigan—Freshman, Lorain, Ohio

Eastern Michigan freshman Armando Torres finished runner-up at the Cleveland State Open this past Saturday. In the first podium appearance in his collegiate career, Torres earned a major decision over Gardner Webb's Landon LoAbo in the first round before taking back-to-back decisions to secure a spot in the finals against Northwestern's Stevan Micic. Torres was unable to keep pace with Micic, falling in a 10-2 major decision to garner the second-place finish at 125 lbs.  Eastern Michigan saw three top-four finishes, including the runner-up finish from Torres.

Mike DePalma, Kent State—Junior, Jeannette, Pa.

Kent State junior Mike DePalma went 6-0 on his way to a 149-pound title at the Cleveland State Open this past Saturday.  Winning the tournament in dominant fashion, DePalma had three major decision victories, a pin and a technical fall.  He won his semifinal by a score of 9-0, before topping Gardner-Webb’s Ryan Mosley 10-2 in the finals.  DePalma is 13-3 on the season with eight bonus-point victories.

Curt Maas, Northern Iowa—Sophomore, Medford, Minn.

Northern Iowa sophomore Curt Maas was the Panthers’ sole champion at the UNI Open last Saturday. He went 5-0 to take the 174-pound title. He notched a major decision win over Iowa State's Colin Strickland and a fall in 4 minutes, 51 seconds over Iowa Central's Chris Whilden. He battled out a decision win in a second sudden victory over FILA Junior National All-American Logan Molina of Iowa State to win the tournament. Maas cracked the MAC rankings this month and remains undefeated in duals. He improved to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in duals. He has not wrestled a MAC dual yet.

Harrison Hightower, Ohio—Senior, Strongsville, Ohio

Ohio senior Harrison Hightower earned an 11-4 decision over Missouri’s Cody Johnston in a duel competition on Dec. 13 hosted at Ohio. The redshirt senior currently holds a 10-5 record and is a returning National Qualifier for Ohio.