Ryan Loder named Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week By James Warnick Utah Valley University/Western Wrestling Conference Northern Iowa 184 pound redshirt freshman Ryan Loder was named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week after upending a higher ranked foe on the mat last week. The conference honor is Loder's third of the season and was announced by the league Tuesday morning. Loder, ranked 14th nationally at the time, extended his current winning streak to seven with a 5‑0 win over Nebraska’s No. 12‑ranked Josh Ihnen Sunday.  Loder scored a takedown in the first period to take an early 2‑0 lead. The Granite Bay, Calif. native added an escape in the second period to go up 3‑0. Loder managed to ride Ihnen out in the third period, picking up a stalling point as well as a riding time point for the 5‑0 win.  The UNI 184-pounder is the first wrestler to hold Ihnen scoreless this season. Loder is currently riding a seven match winning streak and has won 12 of his last 14 matches, including four wins over ranked wrestlers.
Steve Bonnano, Bubba McGinley win CAA weekly awards By Bud Focht Rider University Sports Information Steve Bonanno of Hofstra University is the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week, and Bubba McGinley of Boston University is the CAA Rookie of the Week, for all competition January 18-24. Bonanno, a sophomore 125 from Wantagh, NY, won his 125 pound weight class at the 42nd annual New York State Championships, winning all three of his matches. Currently ranked second in the CAA, Bonanno defeated the third, fifth and seventh seeds at the NY States to improve to 17-9 on the season. McGinley, a freshman from Doylestown, PA (Central Bucks), won all three of his matches last week, including a fall, to improve to 12-8 on the season. McGinley is now the sixth ranked 125 in the CAA.
Jesse Dong, Corey Peltier named ACC Wrestlers of the Week By Steve Phillips Atlantic Coast Conference Maryland 184-pound junior Corey Peltier and Virginia Tech 157-pound junior Jesse Dong have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Wrestlers of the Week following matches in which each stood out against nationally-ranked competition. Peltier scored a 4-3 upset of Navy’s eighth-ranked Luke Rebertus, while Dong posted a 6-4 decision over No. 8 Rutgers’ 17th-ranked Daryl Cocozzo and a 7-1 victory over Maryland’s 13th-ranked Kyle John. Peltier’s win over Rebertus helped the Terps to a 19-12 win over the in-state rival Midshipmen. He followed up that win with an 8-1 victory over third-ranked Virginia Tech’s John Dickson in the Terps’ ACC opener on Sunday. Peltier is now tied for fifth on Maryland’s team with 16 wins. The Exeter, R.I., native is undefeated since the New Year. Virginia Tech’s eighth-ranked Dong earned his second ACC Wrestler of the Week honor in three weeks while improving to 23-2 for the season. The Westerville, Ohio, native fell behind early against Rutgers’ Cocozzo, but rallied to take the lead in the second period and stayed in front the rest of the way. Dong took a quick lead on Maryland’s John in Sunday’s match and stayed in control most of the remainder of the match. Dong’s victory proved crucial to an eventual 18-17 Hokies team win.
Cameron Wade named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week By Pat Donghia Penn State Sports Information Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the period ending January 23. Wade’s honor is his first and Penn State’s second of the year. Ranked No. 5 by Intermat at heavyweight, Wade went 2-0 last weekend with both wins coming over ranked grapplers. Wade downed then No. 3 Ryan Tomei of Pitt 3-2 in Friday night’s 30-7 win over the Panthers. He followed that up with a punishing 6-0 victory over then No. 14 Ricky Alcala of Indiana in Sunday’s 36-8 road win at Indiana. Wade now sports a 21-3 record with eight pins, three technical falls and two majors. He has scored 46 dual meet points for the Nittany Lions and his only losses are to wrestlers now ranked No. 1, No. 3 and No. 17. The junior’s performance has helped Penn State start the year 13-0, the best start in school history. Penn State, with head coach Cael Sanderson at the helm, hosts No. 8 Iowa on Sunday at 2 p.m. and a Penn State White Out has been declared for the event. The dual has been sold out for weeks and a limited number of student tickets will be distributed on Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Rec Hall ticket office.
Jeremy Diley named USCAA Wrestler of the Week By Jim Heath Apprentice School Sports Information Sophomore heavyweight Jeremy Diley was named on Tuesday as the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week for the week ending January 22. Diley, a welder apprentice from Rappahannock, Va., went 2-0 to win the heavyweight division at the 31st annual Builder Invitational on Saturday. He won his opening match in 1:51 over Jake Powell of Central Florida and won the title at the Invitational by pinning Luke Genovese of Scranton in 1:49. On the year he is 19-11 with 10 of those wins by fall. He is the fifth different Builder to be honored this year by the USCAA. Next up for the Builders will be the National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Duals on Jan. 28-29 in Dalton, Ga.
Brady Anderson named Northern Sun Wrestler of the Week By Nick Kornder Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Brady Anderson won six straight matches last week by a combined score of 54-6, including two against conference foes and another four on Sunday at the Central Missouri Jamboree. Anderson defeated #20 MSU Moorhead’s Jacob McLean 8-1 to start the week and followed with a 6-1 win over Brian Schultz of #2 Augustana, scoring the final six points of the match. He continued his roll as the Marauders stepped out of conference action, starting with a 10-1 major decision over Travis Miller of Central Missouri. In U-Mary’s first dual win of the season, a 33-9 defeat of Ouachita Baptist, Anderson destroyed CJ Hayes with a 17-0 technical fall. Anderson then earned a 10-2 major decision over Newman’s Tyler Hassenbank before finishing with a 3-1 win over Tyler Gonzales of Fort Hayes State… Taylor Nagel (165, Jr., Victor, MT) earned five wins in six outings, including a 3-1 victory over the nation’s #8 ranked grappler at 165, Travis Budke of Fort Hays State.
Tyler Caldwell named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week By Jason Bodin Oklahoma Sports Information Tyler Caldwell of the seventh-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling team has been chosen as the Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week, announced Monday by the league office. The accolade is a first for the Wichita, Kan., native and the second for the Sooners this season (Nathan Fernandez, Jan. 18). “We’re really proud of Tyler Caldwell,†Jack Spates said. “First of all he is the epitome of what we speak of as a student-athlete. He was an All-American as a true-freshman and is ranked-fourth in the country now. He carries above a 3.0 GPA and is an extremely hard worker and a young man of great character. He represents the Sooner with great honor.†Caldwell earned the honor after his performance last Friday, Jan. 21, at Iowa State where the sophomore was instrumental in ending the Sooners eight-match losing streak to the Cyclones after he opened the dual with a decisive 9-1 major decision victory over 10th-ranked Andrew Sorenson. The 165-pound bout was scoreless after the first period, but Caldwell earned a quick escape 0:15 into the period. He added a takedown and back points to take a 5-0 lead. In the third period, the No. 4-ranked Caldwell had a near fall and added 1:13 in riding time to run away with the first bonus points of the evening for the Sooners who won 33-7. The reigning All-American is undefeated (7-0) in dual action and leads the Sooners with six major decision victories. Caldwell also paces OU with dual near falls (8) and is second in dual points scored.