Annoucements made week beginning Feb. 6

 Boudro named Big 10 Wrestler of the Week

R.J. Boudro of Michigan State was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.

R.J. Boudro, Michigan State, SR, 174, Richmond, Mich./Armada
Boudro won both his matches at 174 pounds over the weekend by major decision to help the Spartans take down Purdue on Feb. 3 and No. 7 Iowa this past Sunday.  The senior captain handled Purdue's Barry Jackson, 13-4, and then registered his 21st win of the season with a victory over Iowa's Ben Stedman, 14-4.  The win over Stedman clinched the No. 18 Spartans' 19-17 upset of the seventh-ranked Hawkeyes. Currently ranked fifth in the nation, Boudro is second on the team in major decisions with eight.

 Backes named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week

DALLAS - Kurt Backes (Iowa State) has been named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week for his performance during meets from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5.  Backes receives recognition for the first time in his career.

Kurt Backes (Iowa State), Jr., 184 pounds, Neshanic Station, N.J.
Backes, ranked ninth nationally, upset top ranked Eric Bradley (Penn State) at 184 pounds.  Backes handed Bradley his first loss of the season with a 10-2 major decision which propelled Iowa State to a 20-18 victory over the Nittany Lions.  After a scoreless first period, he took down Bradley twice in the second-period and scored a three-point nearfall halfway through the final frame. Bradley (Plaistow, N.J.), a 2005 All-American and two-time Big 10 champion, had only given up three takedowns in his career prior to facing Backes. The junior from Neshanic Station, N.J., is now 16-5 this season.

 Ramirez and Palma named Co-ACC Wrestlers of the Week

GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina's Vincent Ramirez and NC State Jainor Palma were named Co-Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestlers of the Week.

For the second time this season, redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez has been named ACC Wrestler of the Week.  The Durham, N.C., native went 2-0 at 141-pounds last week in leading North Carolina to a 22-15 win over Duke (Jan. 31) and a 31-9 victory over Virginia Tech (Feb. 2).  Ramirez recorded a 5-3 win over No. 16 David Hoffman of Virginia Tech and defeated Duke's Philip Wightman, 10-6, earlier in the week.  Ramirez, who has won his last 12 bouts, is 33-6 on the season and is a perfect 5-0 in ACC action.

Jainor Palma, a junior from Cary, N.C., also went 2-0 on the week, in helping NC State to a 22-17 win over UNC Greensboro and a 36-15 victory over Campbell.  The heavyweight defeated No. 13 Tyler Shovlin of UNC Greensboro, 3-2, on Feb. 1 and then got a 15-3 major decision over Campbell's Jeremiah Fennell on Feb. 4.  For the season, Palma is 22-6 and has won nine of his last 11 matches.

 Ragusa named MAC Wrestler of the Week

Buffalo's Mike Ragusa was named MAC Wrestler Of The Week.

MAC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Mike Ragusa - So. - 174 pounds - Buffalo - Foxboro, Mass. - Foxboro
Ragusa's 12-point major decision against Eastern Michigan's Don Funk was the tide-turner of Buffalo's 29-12 win against the Eagles on Saturday, giving the Bulls their first lead of the dual meet. Against No. 6 Central Michigan on Sunday, he one-upped himself when he posted the MAC's biggest upset of the weekend, beating NWCA/InterMat's 13th-ranked Christian Sinnott, 5-4, getting an escape and a take down in overtime to secure the victory. 

Other Nominees:
Trevor Stewart - Fr. - 165 pounds - Central Michigan - Canton, Mich. - Detroit Catholic Central
Stewart made his Mid-American Conference debut with a 3-2 decision over Buffalo's Mickey Moran. Stewart, who is 7-5 overall in his rookie campaign, dropped the sophomore Moran to 24-7 on the season. Stewart has now won three of his past four matches overall. 

Jermain Thompson - Jr. - 149 pounds - Eastern Michigan - Akron, Ohio - Kenmore
Thompson defeated Buffalo's Pat Lloyd, 5-3, in the Bulls' 29-12 win over the Eagles. Thompson has an even 2-2 mark in MAC duals this season. 

Willie Leonard - Jr. - 285 pounds - Kent State -  Chestertown, Md. - Kent County
Leonard (17-6) won an individual championship and went 4-0 in the heavyweight bracket at the Kent State Open. He tallied his fifth pin of the season while opponents scored just one point on him in four matches. 

Josh Wooton - Sr. - 141 pounds - Northern Illinois - Urbana, Ohio - Graham
Wooton was instrumental in securing NIU's 16-16 tie with No. 25 Northern Iowa Saturday night. He defeated the Panthers' 20th-ranked C.J. Ettelson, 5-3, in the afternoon's final match. The Huskies have now recorded back-to-back ties for the first time in head coach Dave Grant's tenure at NIU. In securing his 99th career victory, Wooton also avenged an earlier setback to Ettelson this season at Midlands. 
 
Jake Frerichs - R-Fr. - 157 pounds - Ohio - Uniontown, Ohio - St. Paris Graham
Frerichs won all three of his matches over the weekend in dominant fashion. The 157-pounder recorded a 10-1 major decision over Virginia Tech's Dave Kiley on Saturday and then pinned James Madison's Mitch Davey before posting a 9-2 decision over Virginia's Kyle Artusio.

Hlusack and Wright named CAA Co-Wrestlers of the Week

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ (February 7, 2006) - Ryan Hluschak of Drexel University, and Adam Wright of Old Dominion University, have been named the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestlers of the Week, and Tyler Tisdell of George Mason University has been named the CAA Rookie of the Week, for all competition January 31-February 6.

Ryan Hluschak - Drexel, Sophomore - 157 lbs - Slatington, PA/Northern Lehigh 
Hluschak, a sophomore 157 from Slatington, PA (Northern Lehigh), went 2-0 last week, with a major decision in a CAA match. Hluschak avenged a loss to Mason's Mitch Webster in the CAA Championships last year with a 17-6 victory. Hluschak placed fourth in the CAAs last year and is currently ranked second in the CAA. 

Adam Wright - Old Dominion, Senior - 197 lbs - Dayton, VA/Turner Ashby 
Wright, a senior 197 from Dayton, Virginia (Turner Ashby), won both of his matches last week, including a 5-2 upset victory over the 18th ranked wrestler in the nation, Daren Burns of UNC-Greensboro. Currently ranked 19th in the nation and first in the CAA, Wright improved to 14-0 in duals and 25-4 overall with a 20-9 major decision over Virginia's Brent Jones. 

CAA Rookie of the Week
Tyler Tisdell - George Mason, Freshman - 165 lbs - Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp. 
Tisdell, a freshman 165 from Sewell, NJ (Washington Twp.), won all three of his matches last week by major decision, including a CAA victory against Drexel. Tisdell improved to 7-1 in the CAA, 11-1 in all dual meets, and 24-7 overall. 

 Williams named Iowa Conference Wrestler of the Week

Cole  Williams of the Univ. of Dubuque has been named Iowa Conference Wrestler of the Week.

Wrestling - Cole Williams, Univ. of Dubuque, Delavan, Wis./Delavan Darien
Williams, a senior, placed third at 165-pounds at Dubuque's "Moco" Mercer Open posting a 4-1 record with two falls and a technical fall.  He pinned William Penn's T.J. Stuart (3:38) and unattached wrestler Luis Coronel (4:12).  Williams won by technical fall over Marquette's Adam Crozier (19-4, 5:50) and by decision over unattached wrestler Braden McLoughlin (4-2).  His lone loss was a 7-5 decision to Seth Garvin of Division I Wisconsin.

The IIAC also recognized the following outstanding athletic performances from the past week.

_      Wartburg College senior heavyweight Blake Gillis (Spencer, Iowa/Spencer) went 2-0 during the week with a major decision and a fall.  He won by major decision over Augsburg's Dylan Soberg (10-0) and pinned Coe's Ted Drees (1:58).  

  Baker named NSIC Wrestler of the Week

Nate Baker of Minnesota State  University - Moorhead was named the most recent Northern Sun Intercollegiate Confernece Wrestler of the Week.

A 165-pound junior from Lakefield, Baker pinned Brady Hakeman of the Univ. of Upper Iowa and decisioned Andy Pickar of Minnesota State Univ., Mankato, 7-5. Baker is ranked No. 1 at 165 pounds in the latest NCAA Div. III Wrestling Coaches Poll, while Pickar is third.

MSIC Notebook
MSU Moorhead split a pair of road duals last week, defeating Upper Iowa 21-16 and falling to MSU Mankato 29-6… Tim Johns of Southwest Minnesota State Univ. improved to 22-5 overall with a 5-0 decision over CJ MacNaught of Upper Iowa…

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.