MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK
MAC East Division: Wrestler of the Week
Greg Bulsak, Clarion—Junior, Pittsburgh, Pa. (South Park High School)
Clarion junior Greg Bulsak won the 197-pound title at the 2019 Clarion Open with a 4-0 record that included two wins by fall and was capped with a rematch of last year’s final. He started the day with two straight wins by fall, pinning Lock Haven’s Blake Reynolds (6:15) and Penn State’s Joe Kurtz (2:11) to reach the semifinal round. He squared off with Cleveland State’s Benjamin Smith in the semifinals and defeated him by major decision, winning 15-6 to lock up a spot in the finals against Penn State’s Michael Beard. The two met in the 2018 Clarion Open finals with Beard earning a 13-9 decision, but this year Bulsak flipped the script by riding Beard for nearly the entire third period and tilting him for a near fall. Bulsak won the 11-8 decision over Beard, who was one of the top recruits in the nation after high school.
Additional Nominees:
Trevor Allard, Bloomsburg—Senior, Mexico, N.Y. (Mexico High School)
Bloomsburg senior Trevor Allard captured the title in the 184-pound bracket on Sunday to highlight the results at the Clarion Open in the season debut for the Huskies' grapplers. He helped the Huskies to a fifth-place finish in the tournament. Allard, who was the top seed in the 184-pound bracket, opened his day with an 8-7 decision over Kent State's Joey Andrassy and then pinned Shippensburg's Austin Klucker in the quarterfinals for his second win of the day. Allard blanked Clarion's Luke Funck, 4-0, in the semifinals and finally edged Kent State's Tyler Bates, 6-4, in the finals to complete his undefeated run to the championship. The redshirt senior went 27-12 last season and now needs 24 more victories this season to reach 100 for his collegiate career.
Tye Varndell, Edinboro—Freshman, Cambridge Springs, Pa. (Cambridge Springs High School)
Edinboro true freshman Tye Varndell earned the starting role at 133 lbs. and went 3-0 in his first collegiate competition as Edinboro opened the season in the Kent State Duals. Varndell upset Kent State's Tim Rooney in his first collegiate match, 7-5, helping Edinboro to a 29-6 win in its first-ever MAC dual. Rooney was a national qualifier a year ago who came in ranked third in the MAC preseason poll at 133 lbs. Varndell won his next match by major decision, 13-4, over Mercyhurst North East's Dillon Schnars, before ending the day with a 10-6 decision over Ashland's Lawrence Dudgeon.
Alex Klucker, Lock Haven—Senior, Summerdale, Pa. (East Pennsboro High School)
Lock Haven senior Alex Klucker at 157 lbs., a returning national qualifier, who is nationally-ranked, made a strong season debut on Sunday at the Clarion Open. Klucker, ranked No. 31 by TrackWrestling, went 4-0 and claimed the individual title at Clarion. It marked his second career Clarion Open title. Klucker opened the day with a first-period tech fall (16-0) in 2:14 and followed it up with back-to-back pins, earning his spot in the finals where he won by forfeit over teammate Jonathan Ross.
Larry Early, Old Dominion—Senior, Oak Park, Ill. (Oak Park River Forest High School)
Old Dominion senior Larry Early at 157 lbs., who was an All-American last season started his 2019-2020 campaign right where he left off at the 2019 NCAA Championships, winning three matches on his way to a first-place finish at 157 pounds at the Battle at The Citadel. He won his bouts by a combined margin of 20-7, including a win by major decision over American's Cole Painter, 11-2.
MAC West Division: Wrestler of the Week
Connor Flynn, Missouri—Senior, St. Louis, Mo. (Francis Howell High School)
Missouri senior Connor Flynn at 174 lbs. won his lone dual bout Saturday against Cody Hughes of No. 18-ranked Virginia Tech via major decision (12-1) to tie Mizzou’s dual against the Hokies at 7-7. He followed the dual with a dominant 4-0 outing en route to a Southeast Open Championship at 174 pounds on Sunday. He had two major decisions among his four wins. Flynn defeated Maryland’s Philip Spadafora in the final, earning a 12-2 major decision against a returning starter from the Big Ten. Overall, Flynn went 5-0 on the weekend, including three bonus-point wins, was 1-0 in dual competition and 4-0 with a Southeast Open Tournament title.
Additional Nominees:
Evan Cheek, Cleveland State—Senior, Milan, Ohio (Edison High School)
Cleveland State senior Evan Cheek began his final collegiate season with a title as he took first at 141 pounds in his first competition since the 2018 NCAA Championships. Cheek not only won the title but did so with ease as he was a perfect 4-for-4 in earning bonus points in each of his bouts. Cheek posted a technical fall shutout in his first match and then got out to a 6-0 lead after the first period in his next bout before cruising to an 11-1 major decision. In his semifinal bout, Cheek notched a pin in the first period. He produced the same result in the championship bout, posting a pin inside of two minutes, after he had already built a 10-0 lead. Three of his wins came against opponents from MAC programs while he also knocked off an opponent from a Big XII program.
Drew Hildebrandt, Central Michigan—Junior, Granger, Ind. (Penn High School)
Central Michigan junior Drew Hildebrandt went 4-1 and placed second at 125 pounds at the Michigan State Open. Hildebrandt opened with a 9-1 major-decision victory over Nate Cummings of Purdue, and then posted another major-decision win, 17-3, over Ethan Curtin of Michigan State. Hildebrandt then defeated Justin Cardani of Illinois, 1-0, and then posted a 7-5 (SV-1) decision over Malik Heinselman of Ohio State in a semifinal match. Heinselman is ranked 18th; Hildebrandt is ranked 15th. Hildebrandt finished 4-1, falling on a 3-2 decision to Brock Hudkins of Indiana in the title match.
Colin McCracken, Kent State—Sophomore, Waynesburg, Pa. (Waynesburg Central High School)
Kent State sophomore Colin McCracken at 197 lbs., went 3-0 at the Kent State Duals on Saturday. McCracken’s signature win came with a 7-3 decision over Dylan Reynolds of Edinboro who came in as the No. 3-ranked wrestler at 197 in the MAC and top-20 overall. He backed that up with a Major Decision win over Nathan Williams of Ashland and a pin fall victory over Draven Douglas of Mercyhurst NE.
Brit Wilson, Northern Illinois—Sophomore, Mexico, Mo. (Mexico High School)
Northern Illinois sophomore Brit Wilson had an impressive showing en route to a third-place finish at the Michigan State Open in the season opener Saturday. Wilson, who moved up from 174 to 184 this season, went 5-1 on the day, scoring all his wins over Big Ten competition. Wilson jumped out to a fast start, scoring tech fall victories in his first two matches. He posted a 20-3 victory over Northwestern’s Jon Halvorson before earning 19-4 victory over Trevor Blue of Purdue. An 8-3 win over Zac Braunagel of Illinois propelled Wilson into a semifinal match up with No. 4 ranked Nino Bonaccorsi of Pitt. Wilson suffered a 12-8 setback. He scored a 9-4 victory over Purdue’s Max Lyon, ranked 16th by flowrestling, to earn a spot in the third-place bout and a rematch with Braunagel. Wilson took home third place by no contest as Braunagel had wrestled six times that day and finished ahead of No. 13 Cam Caffey of Michigan State and No. 17 Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State.
Max Kristoff, SIUE—Freshman, (Belleville Althoff High School)
SIUE freshman Max Kristoff at 149 lbs., in his first collegiate match pinned Chattanooga's Mason Wallace in 1:25 in the season opener last Friday, Nov. 1. The Cougars dropped a 29-14 decision at Chattanooga.
