SPARTANBURG, S.C.- Fifth-year senior David Metzler pinned two opponents and posted a major decision on his way to a third-place showing in the 141-pound weight class at the All-Academy Championships, held last Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.  For his efforts, Metzler has been named Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week and VMI Athlete of the Week, it was announced on Wednesday.

Metzler (Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby) pinned Jon Egan from Norwich in 1:48 and Caleb Levee from Navy in 2:06, while scoring his team-leading fifth major decision of the season with a 16-4 win against James Beshada of Merchant Marine.

With his three wins, Metzler became VMI's first 20-match winner this season, currently standing at 20-12.  He also moved into the top 20 in VMI career wins, now with a 72-53 career mark.

Metzler is VMI's second SoCon Wrestler of the Week honoree this season, joining freshman Josh Wine, who earned the award in December.

Marsh honored by Big Ten

Wrestler of the Week - Jeff Marsh, Michigan, Sr., 157, Dexter, Mich. / Dexter

Marsh won the biggest match of his career on Feb. 1 when he defeated top-ranked Mike Poeta of Illinois in a 9-6 decision.  Marsh's win handed Poeta his first loss of the season.  His triumph helped propel No. 6 Michigan to a comeback dual win over the No. 15 Illini, 22-16.  With the teams even at five matches apiece, Marsh's victory swung the dual to the Wolverines' favor and put them in the driver's seat.  The fifth-year senior now has a career-high 19 wins this season.  This is Marsh's first career weekly honor.   

Mueller honored by ACC

GREENSBORO, N.C. - After another strong weekend of competition and two more impressive wins, North Carolina's Keegan Mueller has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week.  The weekly honor is the second of the season for the Dallas, Texas, junior, and the third for a North Carolina athlete in 2007-08.

In his first match-up of the weekend on Saturday, Mueller faced Billy Haydt of Drexel.  Against one of the Dragons' best wrestlers, the 165-pounder was dominant, outscoring his opponent 8-1 as the Heels posted a 26-12 team victory.  Later in the day, Mueller, who ranks 13th nationally in the latest polls, was again victorious, recording a 9-0 major decision win over No. 17 Zack Shanaman of Penn.  Now 22-3 on the season, Mueller is 12-0 in dual meets this season and has outscored his last seven opponents by a score of 81-3.  

Mueller will look to further extend his 16-match unbeaten streak this Friday when North Carolina travels to Raleigh, N.C., to face-off against defending league-champion NC State.  Both teams enter the meet at .500 in league competition. 

Crozier honored by Western Wrestling Conference

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The Air Force Academy's Stephen Crozier has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials.

Crozier, a 165-pounder from Monona, Iowa (MFL Mar Mac HS), was the top performer for Air Force this past weekend, taking home the 165-pound title at the All-Academy Championships, hosted by Army. Crozier, seeded second, went 3-0 at the tournament, registering a pair of major decisions before pinning top-seeded Vincent Renaut in a time of 4:14 in the championship bout. He became the first Falcon since 2005 to win an individual title at the All-Academy Championships. Crozier now leads the Falcons with a 23-9 overall record, one more victory than in his first two seasons combined.

The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State and Wyoming.

Others nominated:
North Dakota State - Eric Hoffman
Northern Iowa - Moza Fay
South Dakota State - Adam Everson
Wyoming - Carter Downing

Oklahoma State's Scott honored by Big 12

STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State senior 133-pounder Coleman Scott is this week's Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, the conference office announced today.

Scott claimed wins over a pair of top-10 opponents last week to lead the Cowboys to victories over two teams that were both ranked No. 1 at one point of this season when he handed No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State a 6-2 defeat as part of OSU's 16-15 win over the No. 9 Cyclones last Friday, then came back to beat No. 5 Mack Reiter of Minnesota by a convincing 8-2 decision as part of the Cowboys' 18-14 win over the No. 4 Gophers on Sunday.

Including those two wins, Scott has won 18 consecutive matches, highlighted by five wins over top-10 opposition. Four of Scott's last six wins have come over opponents ranked in the top 10 nationally. On the year, the three-time All-American owns a 24-2 record to go with a 15-1 mark in duals.

For all of the success that Scott has achieved in his career, this is the first time he has been honored as the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week. He joins teammate Jake Dieffenbach as Cowboys to have earned the honor this season, as Dieffenbach secured the recognition the week of Dec. 3-9.

Scott's honor marks the 29th time an Oklahoma State wrestler has been recognized as Big 12 Wrestler of the Week since the conference formed in 1996-97.

The Cowboys are on the road this week, competing at Oregon on Feb. 8 and at UC Davis on Feb. 10.

Wartburg's Struthers honored by Iowa Conference

Wrestling - Rob Struthers, Wartburg College, Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg

Struthers, a senior 125-pounder, joined Wartburg's 2007-08 30-win club with two wins last weekend. Struthers, ranked sixth in NCAA Division III, posted a 6-4 decision over 4th-ranked Seth Flodeen of Augsburg Saturday to avenge a loss in last season's NCAA Division III national quarterfinals. His victory sparked a 28-9 win for the top-ranked Knights over second-ranked and perennial mat rival Augsburg. The dual win, one of the largest in the series between the schools, increased Wartburg's dual win string to 29 in a row. Struthers added a 4:00 technical fall over Cornell's Cole Mason Friday evening as the Knights posted a 50-0 win over the Rams.

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

Wrestling - Luther College senior 174-pounder A.J. Gregg (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah) posted a fall at 1:33 over Coe's Tyler Jentz in the final match of the night to secure a 19-17 victory for #12 Luther over #7 Coe.