CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestler Javier Maldonado was named Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week for his two victories last week, the SoCon office announced Wednesday.

Maldonado, a senior from Kissimmee, Fla., accounted for 12 team points in the Mocs' back-to-back wins at VMI and Virginia Tech.

Maldonado registered pins in each of the dual matches on back-to-back days.  Ranked 15th nationally, the 125-pounder remained undefeated in 19 career SoCon matches with a first-period pin of VMI's Jeremy Adams.  The following day, Maldonado pinned Virginia Tech's Justin Staylor in the second period.

His performance led the Mocs to two victories, the fourth and fifth consecutive wins for the squad.

Chattanooga, 10-5, hosts No. 5-ranked Central Michigan Sunday at 1 p.m. in Maclellan Gym on the UTC campus.

Penn State's Scott honored by Big Ten

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Sunday, Feb. 10.  Scott earned the honor for his 4-3 win over then No. 4 Kellen Russell of Michigan.

Scott, making his first start in a home Big Ten dual meet, thrilled over 4,000 Nittany Lion fans the critical decision over Russell.  He notched a reversal and two escapes to down the fourth-ranked Wolverine and grab his first home Big Ten dual meet win.  The victory helped Penn State defeat then No. 6 Michigan 20-14 as the Nittany Lions won six of 10 bouts in the victory.  Scott improved to 14-3 on the year while Russell fell to 23-4. 

The honor is Penn State's third this season.  Both Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) and David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) have earned the honor.

Scott's win allowed him to make a superb debut in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll individual rankings, stepping in at No. 9 at 141.  Scott is one of eight Nittany Lions ranked in the latest release, compiled and released by Intermat and viewable in full at www.intermatwrestle.com.

Head coach Troy Sunderland's team moved up to No. 9 in the national team rankings, jumping up a spot thanks to its win over Michigan last Friday night.  The victory improved Penn State to 11-5 on the year, 3-3 in Big Ten duals.  Iowa holds down the top spot, followed by Nebraska (2), Oklahoma State (3), Minnesota (4), Central Michigan (5), Ohio State (6), Iowa State (7), Illinois (8), Penn State (9) and Michigan (10).  The Big Ten, with six teams in the top ten, has nine ranked overall as Northwestern (12), Wisconsin (13) and Indiana (21) are among the nation's top 25.

Scott is one of five Nittany Lions with a top ten individual ranking.  Three-time All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) holds down the No. 3 spot at 197 with a 14-1 record while sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) is No. 3 at 157 with his 22-1 mark.  Sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) checks in with a No. 5 nod at 149 and is 17-3 on the year. Scott is No. 9 at 141 and senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) is No. 10 at 125.  McKnight is 10-6 on the season. 

Joining that group in the national rankings are sophomore David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio), junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) and junior John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.)  Erwin, 21-8 on the year, is No. 16 at 174; Bomberger, 15-6 so far, is No. 14 at 184; and Laboranti, 20-6 this season, is No. 16 at HWT.

The Nittany Lions close out their home slate this weekend with two Big Ten duals.  Michigan State visits Penn State on Friday, Feb. 15, in a 7 p.m. dual that will air live to a Big Ten Network national audience.  Purdue then comes to Rec Hall on Sunday, Feb. 17, for a 1 p.m. match-up. Tickets for all regular season duals are on sale now at the athletic department ticket office in the Bryce Jordan Center.  Single-dual tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $3 for students 18 and under.  Penn State students with a proper student ID are admitted free!  Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order single-dual or season tickets.  All Penn State duals will be broadcast locally on WBLF 970 AM and WKVA 920 AM and streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com.  All home duals will feature a live video webcast and live scoring at www.GoPSUsports.com as well.

Northern Colorado's Lewis honored by Western Wrestling Conference

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - University of Northern Colorado 165-pounder Devan Lewis has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials.

UNC's Lewis (Weatherford, Texas) won a pair of bouts at 165 pounds over the weekend to help lead the Bears to wins over Utah Valley State and Air Force. On Friday, he recorded a major decision victory, 11-2 against Nate Kearsley of Utah Valley State and then came up with a 7-4 victory over Stephen Crozier of the Air Force Academy on Sunday - last week's WWC Wrestler of the Week. Lewis is now 16-9 on the season and 7-4 in dual action - including winning five of his last six matches.

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:
Air Force - Jake Kriegbaum
Northern Iowa - Jarion Beets
Utah Valley State - Mark Dennis
Wyoming - Eric Coxbill

George Mason's Byers honored by CAA

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - For the second consecutive week, a member of the George Mason wrestling team's freshman class was honored by the Colonial Athletic Association. Last week, 157-pounder Frankie McLaughlin earned CAA Co-Rookie of the Week honors. This week, it was 197-pounder Cayle Byers (Chugiak, Alaska/Chugiak) turn, after an
impressive week in which Byers beat the 11th-ranked wrestler in the nation according to InterMat.

It is the second time Byers has won the award. He was also named the CAA Co-Rookie of the Week on Dec. 4. Byers earned his second award on the strength of a pair of impressive dual match victories on Tuesday.

Trailing by three points against Liberty, Mason needed at least a major decision at 197 pounds to win the meet. Byers, ranked 16th by InterMat and 20th by Amateur Wrestling News in last week's poll, did exactly that, beating Nick Knowles 19-5 to give the Patriots a close 19-18 win.

Mason's second meet of the day found the Patriots in a similar situation, trailing entering the final match. This time around, Mason trailed UNC Greensboro by two, 17-15, heading into the 197-pound bout. Byers prevailed again, this time against a much tougher opponent than the first. Wrestling Daren Burns, the 11th-ranked wrestler in the nation according to InterMat and 13th according to Amateur Wrestling News, Byers showed off his tremendous skills, forcing overtime
against the seasoned veteran, before giving Mason the 18-17 team victory with a takedown in the extra period to earn his team-leading 31st win of the year.

Byers split the award with Ryan McGarity, a 141-pounder from Binghamton. The CAA also announced its Co-Wrestler of the Week award, shared by T.J. Morrison of Rider and Josh Patterson of Binghamton.

George Mason wrestles again on Friday, Feb. 15 against Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Pa. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Virginia's Caponi honored by ACC

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Virginia's Rocco Caponi has been chosen as the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Feb. 10, after a weekend in which he needed just 1:48 to put away two opponents and extend his fall win streak to four.  The weekly award is Caponi's second of the 2007-08 season.

Caponi, a junior 184-pounder for the Cavaliers, was dominant in two matches against league opponents NC State and Duke on Sunday.  Taking on Dane Coffee of NC State early in the day, the Uniontown, Ohio, native recorded a pin just 1:00 into the match for his 33rd win of the season, as Virginia downed the Wolfpack 30-12.  In the day's second match, Caponi was equally impressive, taking out John Barone of the Blue Devils with a pin at 0:48 to help the Cavs prevail, 19-15.  Caponi, who is currently the 13th ranked 184-pound wrestler in the nation, is now 34-2 this season.

Now 18-4 on the season, and 3-1 in the ACC, Virginia has nearly two weeks off before its season-ending matchup with the league-leading Maryland Terrapins on Feb. 24.  That match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va.

Oklahoma's Fio honored by Big 12

IRVING, Texas - Fresh off of an impressive weekend where he recorded two Big 12 victories, including a defeat of the defending national champion and No. 4 ranked Paul Donahoe, OU freshman Joey Fio was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week Monday.

The conference honor is the first for the Sandpoint, Idaho, native, and the first by a Sooner this season.  The 125-pounder is also the lone freshman in the conference to garner the award this year.

"True-freshmen that start usually go through a challenging transition, and Joey is no different," head coach Jack Spates said.  "His hard work and persistence were rewarded last weekend with two huge victories.  This award is well-deserved and we are very proud of him."

Fio posted an 11-2 major decision over John Olanowski of No. 12 ranked Missouri last Friday, which gave him his 10th dual win this season.  He followed up with a stunning upset victory in Lincoln on Sunday by defeating Donahoe of the No. 2 ranked Huskers.  After being down 4-3 to begin the third period, Fio scored a takedown and an escape to win by decision, 6-5.

The win over the Husker was Fio's second this season against a Top 10 opponent.  He defeated then-No. 9 ranked Javier Madonado of UT-Chattanooga on Jan. 18.  

After the successful weekend, the freshman now ranks second on the team with 48 takedowns in dual competition. 

The wins propel him to a 17-7 overall record and an 11-4 dual record, including a fourth place finish at the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic and runner-up finish at the Oklahoma Open.  

The Sooners resume competition this Friday, Feb. 15, at the Lloyd Noble Center when they host Cal Poly at 7 p.m.  The squad will share the floor with the OU women's gymnastics team in the first "Beauty and the Best" event.

The first 500 fans arriving Friday will receive an event T-shirt, and raffle prizes will be awarded throughout the evening. Both teams will also take part in an autograph session at the conclusion of the event. 

Tickets are $5 for children and $7 for adults. Admission is free for OU students with a valid student I.D.

Pitt's Sheaffer honored by EWL

PITTSBURGH - Zach Sheaffer, the No. 14-ranked heavyweight in the nation, has been named as the Eastern Wrestling League's Wrestler of the Week for his performance over the weekend at West Virginia, it was announced Monday by the league office.

Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) helped Pitt slide by the Mountaineers and remain a perfect 4-0 in league action on Friday when he claimed victory over No. 16-ranked Dustin Rogers. 

The Panthers found themselves trailing in the match by a count of 17-15 when Sheaffer stepped to the mat for the final bout of the evening. The 2005 EWL Champion, Sheaffer used a takedown and three back points to build a sizable lead in the first period and went on to take the duel by a score of 9-3.

Sheaffer now boasts 29 wins this season, the most on the team, and hopes to continue his stellar redshirt junior season when the Panthers host North Carolina at Fitzgerald Field House this Saturday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m.

For videos and pictures form Friday's Backyard Brawl, please visit the links below:

Video - http://wpialwrestling.net/wrestlingreportvideo/video/Pitt-WVU-08/
Pictures - http://wrestlingreport.com/photo/thumbnails.php?album=11