Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

MAC Wrestler of the Week
Blaize Cabell, Northern Iowa—Junior, Independence, Iowa

Northern Iowa junior Blaize Cabell knocked off the MAC's top-ranked heavyweight wrestler last weekend, Missouri’s Devin Mellon. This was the second time Cabell has topped two-time NCAA qualifier Mellon this season. He notched the first win at the UCM Open for third place this year. Cabell hasn’t lost a match since Dec. 6, and has won his last nine matches. Three of Cabell’s four losses this season have been to wrestlers ranked in the top 11. Cabell was pushed up to 10th in the NCAA rankings after taking down No. 7 Ty Walz of Virginia Tech. Cabell improved to 20-4 overall and remains unbeaten in the MAC at 5-0.
  
Additional Nominees:
Tyler Keselring, Central Michigan—Senior, Cedar Springs, Mich. (Greenville HS)

Central Michigan senior Tyler Keselring secured one the biggest wins in Central Michigan's 19-13 upset of Kent State, the MAC's No. 4-ranked team. Keselring took down the conference's No. 1-rated wrestler at 133 lbs., Mack McGuire, who entered the meet with a 24-8 record. Keselring recorded two takedowns in the decisive third period to claim a 5-2 victory over McGuire. Keselring's win, which moved him to 11-9 on the season and 3-2 versus MAC competition, gave Central Michigan an early 7-0 lead. With the victory, Central Michigan's third against a higher-ranked conference opponent this season, the Chippewas upped their conference record to 5-1 and 7-5 overall in dual meets.

Vincent Pizzuto, Eastern Michigan—Junior, North Jackson, Ohio (Jackson Milton HS)

Eastern Michigan junior Vincent Pizzuto improved upon his undefeated MAC record Friday, Jan. 30 when the Eagles took on the Golden Flashes of Kent State University. Despite the Green and White being unable to pull off a victory over its conference opponent, the redshirt-junior was one of three bright spots in the night for the EMU lineup. The North Jackson, Ohio native fought back to take a 4-2 sudden victory overtime decision over the No. 1 ranked 133 lb. grappler in the conference, Mack McGuire. The win marks the second-straight season that Pizzuto has defeated McGuire in the 133 lbs. weight class. The win also knotted the dual at 3-3 before KSU went on to take the six of the remaining eight bouts of the evening. With the win, Pizzuto improves to 12-9 overall on the season and 3-0 in conference duals.

Jerald Spohn, Kent State—Redshirt Freshman, New Lexington, Ohio (New Lexington HS)

Kent State redshirt freshman Jerald Spohn wrestled up two weights from where he started the season (165) and went 2-0 this past weekend in MAC duals.  Spohn helped Kent State to a 25-9 victory over Eastern Michigan with a 6-4 win against Mike Curby.  Two days later, Spohn earned a 15-4 major decision over Central Michigan’s C.J. Brucki.  Spohn improved to 4-2 in MAC duals and is 22-18 on the season.

Alan Waters, Missouri—Senior, Kansas City, Mo.

Missouri senior Alan Waters improved to a perfect 22-0 this season, 13-0 in duals, after defeating No. 6 Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa by 10-1 major decision last Saturday, Jan. 31. This marked Waters’ second straight win over a top-10 ranked opponent, as he also defeated No. 10 Eddie Klimara of Oklahoma State on Jan. 23. Overall this season, Waters has accumulated wins over seven ranked foes including five in the top-10. The win last Saturday against Peters also marked his ninth bonus points win of the season.

Phil Wellington, Ohio—Junior, Euclid, Ohio

Ohio junior Phil Wellington recorded his seventh-consecutive victory on Friday evening with a 7-6 decision against Old Dominion’s Kevin Beazley at the 197-class. The returning national qualifier is ranked 16th in the nation, holds an overall record of 19-5 and remains undefeated in MAC competition.

Alexander Richardson, Old Dominion—Junior, Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter’s Prep)

Old Dominion junior Alexander Richardson earned his fourth-straight win, helping the Monarchs to their fifth consecutive win of the season as they took down No. 27 Ohio, 25-9. After the first three bouts, the Monarchs led the Bobcats 11-0. No. 10 Richardson gave the crowd an exciting match, downing No. 7 Tywan Claxton 4-1 in sudden victory, marking his third win of the season over a ranked opponent. With the match tied at 1-1, Richardson and Claxton went into sudden victory. Neither wrestler would score, as the match was to be decided in the tie-breaking round. Claxton claimed an escape to take a 2-1 lead, but Richardson answered with an escape of his own and a late takedown to earn the 4-1 victory. He is now 19-6 on the season and 8-4 in dual meet action, including a 3-1 MAC mark.