Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
 
MAC Wrestler of the Week
Trace Engelkes, Northern Illinois—Senior, Winnebago, Ill. (Winnebago High School)
 
Northern Illinois senior Trace Engelkes notched two wins this weekend over Eastern Michigan and No. 14 Illinois. In the MAC dual win over Eastern Michigan, 22-14, Engelkes shut out his opponent, 5-0. He led the first period, 2-0, and was awarded stalling points on two separate occasions before capping off the dual with riding time for the win. In the Huskies dual versus the Big Ten’s No. 14 Fighting Illini, Engelkes upset No.9 Zach Brunson in a 6-2 decision. After the NCAA released their first of four coaches’ panel rankings, Engelkes is currently ranked 25th and is now 12-2 on the season while leading the team with 31 dual points.
 
Additional Nominees:
Tyler Rill, Buffalo—Senior, Hampstead, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph High School)
 
Buffalo senior Tyler Rill scored one of his biggest wins of the season by taking down No. 15 Seldon Wright of Old Dominion. Rill earned a 13-5 major decision over Wright to help the Bulls defeat the Monarchs 22-14 and earn their first MAC road dual win since the 2012 season.  
 
Brent Fleetwood, Central Michigan—Junior, Smyrna, Del. (Smyrna High School)
 
Central Michigan junior Brent Fleetwood went 2-0 on the weekend, beginning with an 11-0 major decision victory over Logan Griffin of Michigan State and closing with a 4-2 win over 18th-ranked Barlow McGhee of Missouri. Fleetwood took down McGhee for a SV-1 win, improving to 15-6 on the season.
 
Daniel Lewis, Missouri—Sophomore, Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs High School)
 
Missouri sophomore Daniel Lewis continued his hot streak of wrestling by scoring a first-period technical fall over Logan Parks to help Mizzou defeat No. 16 Central Michigan, 24-8 on Jan. 22. Lewis scored a takedown 15 seconds into the match and proceeded to turn the Chippewa wrestler four times to earn back points, earning a 17-0 technical fall at 2:52. The win was Lewis’ fourth consecutive win by bonus points without yielding a single point. In the streak, Lewis has posted two technical falls and two major decisions, outscoring the competition 58-0 in the process. Lewis, the 2016 MAC Freshman of the Year, is now 18-2 on the season, 9-0 in duals and 5-0 in MAC Duals. The Tiger sophomore leads the team in dual points (43) and falls (six), and has registered bonus point victories in 15 of 18 victories this season.
 
JJ Everard, Northern Iowa—Senior, Fontana, Calif. (Etiwanda High School)
 
Northern Iowa senior JJ Everard grabbed two wins over ranked opponents this weekend to help the Panthers improve to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the MAC. Everard pushed No. 29 Quean Smith into sudden victory, where he got the takedown needed to win the dual, 3-1. He topped off the weekend with a win over No. 17 Gage Hutchison of Eastern Michigan. Everard held off Hutchison’s shots, only allowing Hutchison to score with escapes. Everard notched four takedowns and earned riding time. A third-period escape gave him the 10-4 win. Everard improved to 9-6 overall, 6-2 duals and 3-0 in the MAC.
 
Bailey Faust, Ohio—R-Freshman, Lexington, Ohio (Lexington High School)
 
Ohio junior redshirt freshman Bailey Faust found himself pitted against Stephen Suglio of Kent State. Faust trailed 6-2 heading into the final period and started the period on top. After wearing Suglio down for the first-half of the period, Faust executed a pin with just under a minute remaining the match marking Faust’s second MAC victory of the season.