West Wrestler of the Week
Garrett Thompson, Ohio, Redshirt Sophomore, 165lbs
At the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, one of the premier wrestling tournaments on the collegiate wrestling calendar, Ohio's Garrett Thompson placed fifth in the 165-pound weight class. With four wins by fall, one major decision, and one by decision, Thompson helped the Bobcats earn 15th place in a 36-team field that included of 16 ranked programs. After winning by fall in the first two rounds of the tournament, Thompson would face off with the 21st-ranked Connor Brady from Virginia Tech. He would win, recording his third straight victory by fall. Thompson would be defeated by the country's second-ranked 165-pounder, David Carr from Iowa State. He bounced back by beating #17 Maxx Mayfield from Northwestern by decision. He followed that up by beating the eighth-ranked Max Olguin from Oregon State with a 10-2 major decision. Thompson was unable to defeat Michigan's third-ranked Cameron Amine, pushing him to the fifth-place match. Thompson would face off with Hunter Garvin, the 29th-ranked 165-pounder from Stanford. Thompson would win by fall four the fourth time in the tournament and finish fifth as the weight class' eighth seed.
East Wrestler of the Week
Nate Higley, George Mason, Redshirt Sophomore, 141lbs
Nate Higley completed a 7-0 weekend. On Saturday, he led GMU to two dual victories. In his first match, he won by major decision, 14-3 over Joshua Viarengo of Davidson. That win helped propel GMU to at 24-10 dual meet victory and the A10 Dual Meet Championship. In the second match of the day, Higley collected a forfeit victory over Cleveland State. That win helped GMU to a 23-14 dual meet victory over MAC East foe. The next day, Higley competed at A Better Way Athletics Patriot Open Tournament. He finished the day with the championship after five victories. First round, he beat Carter Nix of Morgan State with his first fall of the day in 1:47. In the second round, Higley won by major decision, 8-0 over Cael McIntyre of American University. In the quarterfinals, Higley beat Michael Pizzuto of Maryland 9-8. In the semifinals, he won 7-4 over Nico Nardone of the University of Pennsylvania. In the finals, he needed just 24 seconds to flatten Evan Mougalian of Penn. Overall, Higley was 7-0 on the weekend taking his record to 8-0 on the season with five bonus point victories. He has 3 pins, 2 major decisions, 2 decisions, and a forfeit.
