Steve Mocco (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) has been named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Oct. 16-22.

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.

Mocco won a gold medal at the Alexander Medved International on Oct. 20 in Minsk, Belarus.

Mocco defeated K. Bakdanlet of Kazakhstan 2-0, 6-0 in the freestyle finals at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. Mocco scored on two single-leg takedowns in the first period. He added two more singles and a pair of two-point gut-wrenches in the second period.

Mocco, a resident-athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, placed second at the 2007 U.S. World Team Trials.

Mocco opened the tournament with a 1-0, 2-0 win over S. Bayramov of Russia. He then beat A. Mastepanov of Belarus 1-2, 2-0, 6-0 in the semifinals.

Mocco won NCAA titles for Iowa and Oklahoma State.

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