Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

MAC Wrestler of the Week
Jack Dechow, Old Dominion—Sophomore, Richmond, Ill. (Richmond Burton High School)

Old Dominion sophomore Jack Dechow went a perfect 4-0 last weekend at the Virginia Duals, helping Old Dominion to a third-place finish overall. In the first match against No. 3 (Division II) Nebraska-Kerney, Dechow handled his competition, taking down Chance Bila by a 17-1 tech fall earning five points for the Monarchs. Against No. 15 Bucknell, Dechow defeated Thomas Sleigh by an 8-3 decision, earning three more team points. In the toughest match of the weekend, Dechow faced NCAA qualifier Austin Gabel from No. 6 Virginia Tech. Dechow came out on top by a 6-3 decision, again earning three team points. ODU fell to Virginia Tech by a close 19-15 margin and faced No. 10 Edinboro in the third-place match. Dechow faced No. 12 Vic Avery in his final bout and earned his 12th-consecutive win by an 8-1 decision. ODU went 3-1 overall at the duals and earned third place. Dechow earned 14 team points over the weekend and is now 17-1 on the season and 7-1 in dual action.
  
Additional Nominees:
Colin Heffernan, Central Michigan—Redshirt Freshman, Cleveland, Ohio (St. Edward High School)

Central Michigan redshirt freshman Colin Heffernan at 149 scored one of the biggest wins in Central Michigan's 19-14 road upset of Ohio, the MAC's No. 3-ranked team. Heffernan knocked off the nation's No. 9 wrestler, Tywan Claxton, with a 9-7 sudden victory win. Down 7-5 in the third period, Heffernan scored a takedown to tie the match and send it to overtime. Heffernan notched another takedown in overtime, his third overall for the match, to secure the victory and three points for Central Michigan. Heffernan's win, which moved him to 13-8 on the season and 2-0 versus MAC competition, gave Central Michigan what would prove to be an insurmountable 16-0 lead. With the victory, the Chippewas remain undefeated versus MAC opponents, upping its record to 3-0.

Anthony Abro, Eastern Michigan—Junior, Canton, Mich. (Canton High School)

Eastern Michigan junior Anthony Abro notched a perfect weekend for the Eagles, going 3-0 on the mats with two decisions and one pin. The Canton, Mich. native started off the weekend with a 9-5 decision over Ryan Darch of Clarion to extend the Eastern Michigan lead to 31-7 over the Golden Eagles before coming up big for Eastern at the Pitt Duals Sunday, Jan. 11. With the score of the Duke dual knotted at 13-13, Abro continued to be a leader for the Green and White, stepping up and notching a narrow 3-2 decision over returning All-American and nationally-ranked Conner Hartmann that would allow Eastern Michigan to take a 16-13 lead into the final bout of the dual. In their second dual of the day, the Eagles struggled with N.C. State as the Wolfpack took nine of the 10 bouts. Eastern Michigan's lone victory came from Abro who capped off a perfect weekend with a pin over Michael Boykin in the 197 lb. weight class. Abro posts a 16-7 overall record on the season, a 9-2 record in dual bouts and has earned two victories over ranked opponents in the 2014-15 season.

Tyler Buckwalter, Kent State—Junior, Mill Hall, Pa.

Kent State junior Tyler Buckwalter went 4-0 this past weekend at the Virginia Duals as Kent State took on Arizona State, Virginia Tech, The Citadel and Chattanooga.  Buckwalter topped Arizona State’s Jacen Petersen 6-3 and earned a 7-1 victory over Virginia Tech’s Chad Strube.  Buckwalter’s 16-1 technical fall over Will Connell helped the Golden Flashes pull away from The Citadel in their 23-9 victory.  He ended his weekend with a 4-2 win over Chattanooga’s Justin Lampe.  Buckwalter has wins in seven consecutive dual meets.  He is 18-11 on the season with eight bonus-point victories.

Zach Synon, Missouri—Sophomore, Cary, Ill.

Missouri sophomore Zach Synon picked up a huge road win at No. 4 Cornell last Saturday, defeating 125 pound No. 3 Nahshon Garrett by 6-2 decision. It marked Synon’s first victory against a ranked opponent this season, and catapulted No. 5 Mizzou to a big 27-9 dual victory in Ithaca, N.Y. Synon improved to 22-7 on the year for the Tigers, and upped his dual record to 2-1.

Blaize Cabell, Northern Iowa—Junior, Independence, Iowa

Northern Iowa junior heavyweight Blaize Cabell scored 17 takedowns in just two dual matches over the weekend when UNI hosted Northern Illinois and Buffalo. He earned a 22-7 minor technical fall against NIU's Arthur Bunce. His series of takedowns scored him enough points to earn the tech fall, but he was never awarded near falls points. He followed it up with a major decision against Mike Silvis of Buffalo. Cabell is undefeated in duals for the Panthers. He is 17-4 overall, with three of his losses coming to top 15 opponents. He is 9-0 in duals, 3-0 in the MAC.

Andrew Morse, Northern Illinois—Junior, Alto, Mich. (Lowell High School)

Northern Illinois junior Andrew Morse picked up a big win Friday night at Northern Iowa. Facing the MAC's fourth-ranked 157-pounder in Jarrett Jensen, Morse scored an early takedown, then held Jensen scoreless for the remainder of the match en route to a 4-0 win after adding a second takedown in the third period. So far in 2014-15, the Alto, Michigan, native ranks third on the team with a 14-8 record, in addition to having a 10-4 mark in dual matches and 2-0 against MAC foes.

Cody Walters, Ohio—Junior, Macedonia, Ohio (St. Peter Chanel High School)

Ohio junior Cody Walters recorded his second pin of the season at the 174-class on Jan. 8 against Clarion’s Michael Pavasko, leading Ohio to a 42-5 triumph over the Golden Eagles. The redshirt junior picked up his second victory of the week on Jan. 10, where he posted a 3-0 decision against Central Michigan’s Jordan Ellingwood. No. 11 Walters leads the Bobcats with a 20-1 overall record, is 5-1 in duel competition, and was one of five Ohio grapplers to go undefeated in the week’s competitions.