Dremiel Byers named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Sept. 25-Oct. 1

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Craig Sesker (USA Wrestling)
10/03/2007


Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) has been named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Sept. 25-Oct. 1.

Each week, TheMat.com will select an Athlete of the Week, based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling, from youth programs through the Senior level. The announcement will be made each week on Wednesday.

Byers delivered on the third and final day of the Greco-Roman competition at last month's World Championships by earning a bronze medal at heavyweight to lift the U.S. to a 31-30 edge over Russia in the team race. That win, coupled with Russian Khasan Baroev's loss to Cuba's Mijial Lopez in the gold-medal match, gave the U.S. its first Greco-Roman World team title in history.

Byers delivered with a gutsy effort where he rallied to beat France's Yannick Szczepaniak in the bronze-medal match at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. in Baku, Azerbaijan. Byers dropped the first period in the bronze-medal match with Frenchman, but came back to win the next two periods and win his second World-level medal. Byers won a World title in 2002.

For Byers, it was sweet redemption after the 2006 Worlds when he had a chance to clinch the team title for the U.S. But he instead lost a controversial match where a questionable call went against him. That setback drove Byers during the entire 2007 season.

Note: To nominate a wrestler for TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week, send the athlete's name, accomplishments for the week and career accomplishments to Craig Sesker at csesker@usawrestling.org