Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
 
MAC Wrestler of the Week
Steve Bleise, Northern Illinois—R-Freshman, Chelsea, Mich. (Chelsea High School)
 
Northern Illinois redshirt freshman Steve Bleise further proved himself last weekend by staying undefeated, knocking off two more top-15 wrestlers and winning the Michigan State Open at 141 pounds. Bleise won five matches in total at Michigan State on his way to the title, including victories over No. 13 Danny Sabatello of Purdue in the semifinals and No. 14 Zach Horan of Central Michigan, the defending MAC Champion, in the final by decisive score lines. With his now 9-0 record this season and three top-15 wins, Bleise was ranked as high as No. 10 this week at 141 pounds by Flowrestling.

Additional Nominees:
Colt Cotten, Buffalo—Sophomore, Benton, Pa. (Benton High School)
 
Buffalo sophomore Colt Cotton had his strongest weekend as a Bull this past weekend at the Northeast Duals as he earned a perfect 3-0 record. The Benton, PA native started off his day with a huge 18-2 technical fall victory over his opponent from Springfield College. In his next match against nationally-ranked West Virginia, Cotten dominated Jake S. Smith, defeating him by major decision, 11-1. The 149-pounder then helped Buffalo pull out a close match against Lock Haven in which he defeated Cody Wheeler by major decision, 8-0. Cotten finished off his impressive afternoon with nine total takedowns for the Bulls. The 3-0 weekend helped move Cotten to 5-0 overall on the season as he helped Buffalo improve to 4-1 overall, their best start to a season since 2005-06. The Bulls lone loss on the afternoon came to No. 19 West Virginia, 19-13.
 
Austin Severn, Central Michigan—Junior, New Lathrop, Mich. (New Lathrop H.S.)
 
Central Michigan junior Austin Severn posted a spotless 4-0 record last weekend en route to the 184 lb. title at the Michigan State Open. Severn defeated Eastern Michigan’s Kayne MacCallum (7-6), Appalachian State’s Taylor Jackson (3-1, SV-1) and Wisconsin’s Ryan Christensen (8-7) to reach the championship match. There, Severn upset nationally-ranked and two-time NCAA qualifier Mathew Miller from Navy, 3-1, to claim the title. Miller had advanced to the 184 lb. final by pinning all three of his opponents. Severn is 5-1 early on this season and has moved into the top 20 nationally in several rankings following his performance at the Michigan State Open.
 
Matt Lemanowicz, Missouri—Junior, Lee’s Summit, Mo. (Lee’s Summit West H.S.)
 
Missouri junior Matt Lemanowicz went 4-0 to capture the title in the 157 lb. weight class at the Maryville Kaufman Brand Open last weekend. Lemanowicz defeated his opening round opponent with ease when he recorded an 18-1 technical fall over Shay Lauderdale of Missouri Baptist. After winning his quarterfinal and semifinal matches by decision, Lemanowicz won the championship match when he pinned Kevin Cooper of McKendree in the first period (3:00).
  
Josh Alber, Northern Iowa—R-Freshman, Freeport, Ill. (Dakota High School)
 
Northern Iowa redshirt freshman Josh Alber avenged a loss from last year in a big way Sunday. The unranked Panther knocked off No. 19 Anthony Giraldo, 3-1, at the Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals at 133 pounds. Rutgers wrestler Giraldo handed Alber his only major decision loss last year at the Midlands Championships when Alber wrestled unattached. Alber made his debut in the Panther lineup this weekend, earning three wins for the team and scoring 12 team points. In addition to the top-20 win, he earned a decision over No. 19 Oregon State’s Joey Palmer and grabbed a forfeit win against Hofstra.
 
Phil Wellington, Ohio—Senior, Euclid, Ohio (Villa-Angela St. Joseph High School)
 
Ohio senior Phil Wellington went 4-0 over the weekend to capture the Michigan State Open 197-pound title with wins over Northern Illinois’ Shawn Scott (7-6, Dec.), Ohio State’s Kollin Moore (7-4, Dec.), Northwestern’s Jacob Berkowitz (Inj.) and picked up a technical fall victory in the Championship match over Rylen Droscha who was wrestling unattached. Wellington is 7-0 on the season after sweeping his matches at the Eastern Michigan Duals last weekend.