Hager named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week

NORMAN, Okla. -- Senior Jake Hager has been named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week for his peformances from Jan. 3-8.

The Senior from Perry, Okla., was 2-0 at the Lone Star Duals last weekend when the Sooners defeated Clarion, Utah Valley State and Cal-State Fullerton. Hager who is the No. 5 wrestler in the country at the heavyweight division, pinned both of his opponents in under two minutes and received the Outstanding Wrestler award for the upper weight classes.

Hager is 16-1, overall and 4-1 in duals. He was the heavyweight champion at the Missouri Open and the Oklahoma Open earlier this season.

Griffin, Hunter named CAA Wrestlers of the Week

Hofstra University sophomore Charles Griffin has been named the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week for all competition between January 3 and 9. Griffin (Reading, PA/Reading) shares the weekly award with Old Dominion University senior Adam Wright. Scott Hunter from Drexel University was named the CAA Rookie of the Week.

Griffin, the CAA Rookie of the Year in 2005, defeated the 16th ranked 141 in the nation, Brandon Rader of West Virginia, 17-8 in a major decision last Friday night. The victory broke an 11-11 tie and propelled Hofstra to a 28-14 victory over the Mountaineers.  Griffin, who is now 13-3 on the season, has jumped into 15th place in the Intermat Division I Top 20 rankings at 141 pounds this week.

Wright, a senior from Dayton, VA (Turner Ashby), was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Virginia Intercollegiate tournament, leading ODU to its first team State Championship since 1994. Wright won the 197 pound title with a fall, a tech fall and a major decision while collecting his 101st career win. The top ranked 197 in the CAA, Wright improves to 16-4 on the season.

Hunter, a freshman from Macungie, PA (Emmaus), pinned the 15th ranked 165 in the nation, Jim Bertulis of Bloomsburg, leading the Dragons to victory over Bloomsburg last week. Hunter's pin came with just 0:20 left in the match after trailing by as much as 6-1 in the second period. Hunter tied the match at 7-7 but Bertulis held riding time prior to the fall.

Keller named SoCon Wrestler of the Week

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestler Matt Keller was named the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday.
 
Keller went undefeated in four matches this past weekend at the Lone Star Duals in Arlington, Texas, and was named the meet's Outstanding Wrestler.  The 133-pounder from McDonald, Tenn., defeated No. 1-rated Tom Clum of Wisconsin in the Mocs' opening dual.  He also pinned Whit Dunning of Army, defeated Navy's Sean Knapp and earned a win by injury default in the Harvard match.
 
The junior, ranked as high as No. 8 nationally last week, helped the Mocs to a 3-1 finish in Texas.
 
The Wrestler of the Week award is the third this season for Keller, a transfer from the University of Nebraska.  He was also voted the SoCon Wrester of the Month for the month of December.

Tyler Mumbulo Named NSIC Wrestler of the Week

Upper Iowa University red-shirt freshman Tyler Mumbulo (Bainbridge, N.Y./Bainbridge Guilford HS) was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Wrestler of the Week today.  Mumbulo won the 125-pound championship at the 2006 Midwest Classic in Indianapolis this weekend.  He was one of three Upper Iowa champions, helping the Peacocks to a share of the team title with Ashland University.

Mumbulo finished a perfect 4-0 as the five seed in the 125-pound draw.  He began with a fall over Campbellsville's John Chidester in 1:09.  Mumbulo reached the semifinals with a 4-0 win over four-seed Brent Clausing (Limestone).  He then defeated top-seed Rob McCabe, from Adams State, 10-5.  McCabe was a 2005 All-American and ranked fourth in the country at 125 pounds.  In the finals, Mumbulo defeated second-seed Ty Klofta (Ohio Northern) 8-6.  Klofta was a 2005 Division III All-American and ranked third in the nation.

The two-day event featured 20 teams from the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA ranks.  UIU, ranked 17th in the recent NCAA Division II coaches poll, finished ahead of several top D-II teams.  Upper Iowa finished with 130.5 points to share the team title with Ashland, the ninth-ranked team in the country.  Wisconsin-Parkside finished third, eighth-ranked Adams State finished fourth and 12th-ranked Mercyhurst finished fifth.  The University of Findlay (10th) and the University of Indianapolis (19th) were other top-20 teams in the field.

Upper Iowa is an affiliate member of the NSIC in wrestling this season and will be a full league member beginning in 2006-07.  The Peacocks will compete in the NWCA National Duals Saturday and Sunday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Mercer named IIAC Wrestler of the Week

The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) has named its athletes of the week in each sport.

Wrestling - Niles Mercer, Coe College, Keosauqua, Iowa/Van Buren

Mercer, a sophomore, won the 141-pound weight class at Cornell's Matman Invitational and was named the Outstanding Wrestler.  Mercer, unseeded, defeated the top three seeds en route to a 5-0 record with a fall and a major decision.  He won by major decision over the #1-seed Zach Chambers of Wisconsin-Platteville (15-6) in the Championship match, won by decision over the #2-seed Earl Robinson of William Penn (6-3) and by decision over the #3-seed Ryan McMurray of Augustana, Ill. (5-3).  Mercer also pinned Morningside's Jake Thomas (1:25) and won by decision over Luther's Logan Quek (8-6).

College conferences that wish to have their Wrestlers of the week published on TheMat.com should send their selections to Gary Abbott at gabbott@usawrestling.org. These athletes will be honored weekly in a combined story.