Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
 
MAC Wrestler of the Week
Corey Keener, Central Michigan—Junior, Schuylkill Haven, Pa. (Blue Mountain H.S.)
 
Central Michigan junior Corey Keener went 2-0 last week in dominating Central Michigan wins over Northern Illinois (39-3) and Michigan State (33-0), keeping the No. 21-ranked Chippewas undefeated in dual meet action at 4-0 for the season. On Thursday, Keener scored a major decision versus the Huskies’ Austin Eicher, winning 11-3. On Sunday, he won by technical fall over the Spartans’ Patrick Bloomer, 21-6. With the commanding victories, Keener, the MAC’s No. 3-ranked wrestler at 133 lbs., upped his season record to 6-2.

Additional Nominees:
Dakota Juarez, Eastern Michigan—R-Freshman, Grand Haven, Mich. (Grand Haven High School)
 
Eastern Michigan redshirt freshman Dakota Juarez was the stalwart of two dominating Eastern Michigan dual victories this past week.  In a 34-0 sweep of Michigan State, Dec. 2, Juarez shut out his opponent 11-0 on his way to a major decision victory.  He followed that up with another major decision in a 30-3 dual win over MAC foe Buffalo, Dec. 6, when he defeated Tyler Rill 11-3.  Rill had entered the match 4-1 on the season.  In his first year as a starter, the redshirt freshman Juarez has posted a 7-2 overall record and a perfect 3-0 dual record.
 
Josh Alber, Northern Iowa—R-Freshman, Freeport, Ill. (Dakota High School)
 
Northern Iowa redshirt freshman Josh Alber knocked off his second top-20 opponent at the Cliff Keen Invite in Las Vegas en route to a fifth-place finish. He took down No. 12 Josh Martinez of Air Force, 3-2. Alber started the tournament with a major decision over Zach Davis of Navy, winning 14-5. He also notched wins against Josh Newburg of Boise State and Keegan Moore of West Virginia. Alber is 12-3 overall and 0-1 in the MAC. His only losses have been to top-15 opponents: No. 15 Zach Synon of Missouri and No. 7 Earl Hall of Iowa State (2 times).