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 at 197 lbs., jumped from unranked and unseeded at the start of the Cliff Keen Invitational, back into the national spotlight with a sixth-place finish at the prestigious event in Las Vegas. Bulsak beat three wrestlers ranked in the top-15 according to last week’s FloWrestling rankings, as well as two competitors ranked in the top-10 according to Intermat at the time of the event. He started the weekend with a second-period win by fall over eighth-seeded No. 18/15 Tanner Orndorff of Utah Valley, the first of four wins by fall at the tournament for Bulsak. After a setback against Arizona State’s Kordell Norfleet, Bulsak pinned three straight opponents, defeating Minnesota’s Garrett Joles, Wyoming’s Steph Buchanan, and third-seeded No. 8/11 Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State. He added second-seeded No. 7/9 Jay Aiello of Virginia to his hit list with a 7-4 decision before falling to Cal Poly’s Thomas Lane and Nebraska’s Eric Schultz, giving Bulsak a sixth-place finish. Bulsak now has seven wins by fall on the season, just one off the NCAA Division I lead so far.
Additional Nominees:
Josh Jones, George Mason—Freshman, Hellertown, Pa. (Saucon Valley High School)
George Mason freshman Josh Jones at 133 lbs., posted three straight wins and a fourth win via forfeit to improve to 6-6 on the season. Jones earned an impressive win over Michael Pappaconstantinou from Gardner-Webb with a fall at 0:54. George Mason swept four matches at the Patriot Duals last Saturday, Dec. 7, as George Mason (5-1, 1-0 MAC) defeated VMI (27-16), Gardner-Webb (36-10), Davidson (41-3) and LIU (43-6).
DJ Fehlman, Lock Haven—Senior, Warren, Pa. (Warren High School)
Lock Haven senior DJ Fehlman at 133 lbs., picked up a historic victory last Friday night as he registered Lock Haven’s first ever MAC win. The East-West MAC dual was Lock Haven’s first official match as a member of the MAC. Despite the team loss to Central Michigan, Fehlman, ranked No. 22 at 133 pounds, dominated his opponent Deven Perez on the way to a 13-2 major decision. For Fehlman, the win was a big one as it pushed his career win total to 95, as he inches closer to becoming Lock Haven's 22nd all-time member of the 100-win club. Down 3-0 in the team score, Fehlman quickly put Lock Haven ahead. He led 2-0 with over a minute of riding time at the end of the first period. Fehlman stretched his lead over Perez to 5-2 after two, before rolling in the third. Fehlman's third-period dominance led to the major and the 4-3 Lock Haven lead.
Tim Young, Old Dominion—Senior, Aurora, Ill.
Old Dominion senior Tim Young at 197 lbs., wrestled to a 4-1 record in the Patriot Open, hosted by George Mason University last Saturday, Dec. 7. Of his four victories on the day, two came by major decision. In total, his four victories came by a combined margin of 32-8, including a 9-4 win by decision over Virginia Tech's Cody Howard in the 5th-place bout.
MAC West Division: Wrestlers of the Week
Dresden Simon, Central Michigan—Junior, Dansville, Mich. (Dansville High School)
Central Michigan junior Dresden Simon at 141 lbs., won both of his matches by major decision over the weekend in helping Central Michigan to MAC victories over No. 20-ranked Rider and No. 25-ranked Lock Haven. Simon, who is ranked 23rd nationally by flowrestling.org and unranked in the MAC, opened the weekend on Friday with an 18-5 major decision victory over Lock Haven’s Kyle Shoop, who is ranked No. 1 in the league and 12th nationally. Simon’s win helped spark Central Michigan to a 24-12 victory. Simon followed on Sunday with a 14-5 win over Robert Cleary of Rider in the Chippewas’ 28-10 dual victory.
Additional Nominees:
Derek Spann, Buffalo—Sophomore, Boonville, N.Y.
Buffalo junior Derek Spann at 133 lbs., was 2-0 over the weekend, winning both of his matches by technical fall. On Friday, Spann defeated Cleveland State’s Justin Patrick 21-2. A takedown and four-point near fall late in the first period set the tone. He added a four-point near fall in both the second and third period to cruise to the victory. On Sunday, Spann used a 19-4 tech fall over West Virginia’s Lucas Seibert for his sixth straight dual win. A four-point near fall in the first period followed by a four-point near fall and two-point near fall in the second period help him pull away for the victory.
John Kelby, Cleveland State—Sophomore, Smithville, Ohio (Smithville High School)
Cleveland State sophomore John Kelby at 285 lbs., delivered when his team needed him the most as Cleveland State secured a victory in what was a historic night for the program. Competing in a MAC dual for the first time in school history, CSU trailed host Buffalo, 17-16, entering the heavyweight bout. Kelbly came through for the Vikings with a 2-0 decision over the Bulls' Nolan Terrance to complete the comeback and secure a 19-17 team win for the Vikings. Kelbly tallied an escape early in the second period to take a 1-0 lead and then rode his opponent for the entire third period to ensure the victory.
Tim Rooney, Kent State—Graduate, Columbus, Ohio (St. Charles High School)
Kent State graduate Tim Rooney at 133 lbs., finished eighth at the loaded Cliff Keen Invitational in Vegas. He avenged an earlier season loss to Tye Varnell of Edinboro and defeated Jack Skudlarczyk of Iowa State. His only losses in the tournament came to the No. 7 nationally ranked wrestler Montorie Bridges and the No. 6 ranked Anthony Madrigal of Oklahoma.
Mason Kauffman, Northern Illinois—Sophomore, Stratford, Wis. (Stratford High School)
Northern Illinois sophomore Mason Kauffman at 157 lbs., had a third-period takedown with the score knotted 1-1, and helped give Kauffman a 3-2 victory over No. 20 Eric Barone of Illinois last Friday night. Kauffman, who improved to 6-4 on the year, took a 1-0 advantage after a second period escape. After Barone tied the match up with an escape of his own to open the third, Kauffman scored the lone takedown of the match to earn the win.
