Virginia’s Valenti named ACC Wrestler of the Week
By Steve Phillips
Atlantic Coast Conference

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Virginia 149-pound junior Derek Valenti has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week after scoring an upset victory over the nation’s ninth-ranked wrestler in the Cavaliers’ match at Virginia Tech last Saturday.

Valenti provided a bright spot for Virginia in its 20-12 loss to the seventh-ranked Hokies with his 7-2 win over defending ACC champion Brian Stephens.

Valenti, a native of Newton, N.J., scored on two big moves in the third period. With the match tied at 2-2 midway through the final period, Valenti shot in and scored on takedown. He then tacked on three more points on a near-fall after getting Stephens to his back to put the match out of reach. It marked Valenti’s fifth straight win as he improved to 17-11 this season.

Callender, Nicholson, Brundage win CAA weekly awards
By Bud Focht
Rider Sports Information

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ—Jack Callender of Drexel University and James Nicholson of Old Dominion University are the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestlers of the Week for all competition the first week of February. James Brundage of Rider University is the CAA Rookie of the Week.

Callender, a sophomore heavyweight from Ivyland, Pa (Council Rock North) won both of his matches last week, including a CAA dual against Boston U. that gave him a 4-1 CAA record. Callender also defeated a wrestler from Brown.

Nicholson, a senior 125 from Des Moines, Iowa (Theodore Roosevelt), won his only match last week by fall against North Carolina State to stay a perfect 25-0 on the season. Currently ranked fourth in the nation, Nicholson is 15-0 in dual meets.

Brundage, a freshman 184 from Ossining, N.Y. (Ossining), won by fall to give Rider a 22-12 lead in a 22-18 win at Clarion. Brundage began the season at 165 but due to Rider injuries has moved up two weights and has four wins at 165, is 1-0 at 174 and has four wins at 184.

SCSU’s Jacob Kahnke Earns NSIC Wrestler of the Week
By Tom Nelson
St. Cloud State Sports Information

St. Cloud State University sophomore Jacob Kahnke (Shakopee/Prior Lake H.S.) was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference wrestler of the week on Feb. 7.

Kahnke, the #1 ranked NCAA Division II heavyweight in the nation, improved to 21-1 with a pair of victories on Feb. 4-5 for the #3 ranked St. Cloud State Huskies (17-2).

Kahnke opened his weekend on February 4 with a quality 5-4 decision over #2 ranked Matt Meuleners of Northern State. Kahnke’s big win at 285-pounds helped the Huskies gain a 39-0 shutout against the Wolves at Halenbeck Hall.

To complete the weekend, Kahnke post a 4:32 pinfall against the University of Mary’s Austin Woo. This was Kahnke’s third pin of the season and it helped the Huskies gain a 40-3 win over Mary.

This marks the second time this season that Kahnke has been named NSIC Wrestler of the Week.

The Huskies will continue their 2010-11 season on Feb. 13 with a road match at #11 Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa.  Husky wrestling fans should mark Feb. 17 on their calendars, as SCSU will finish its 2010-11 dual season with a 7 p.m. home match against #8 Minnesota State.   This match will mark Senior Day at Halenbeck Hall. 

As always, all SCSU students with a valid student ID card will be admitted FREE to all regular season Husky wrestling matches in 2010-11. 

Richard Perry named EWL Wrestler of the Week
By Tom McGuire
Bloomsburg Sports Information
BLOOMSBURG—Bloomsburg (PA) University wrestler Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown) has been named the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Wrestler of the Week for the period ending Feb. 6.

Perry, a sophomore competing at 197 pounds, helped the Huskies to two conference wins last week with two big victories.

Against Clarion, a 19-15 win for the Huskies, Perry had a critical win edging 2010 EWL-runnerup and current PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) champion Alex Thomas 2-1. The next day in a 34-12 win for Bloomsburg over Cleveland State, Perry scored a 22-10 major for the Huskies.

With the wins Bloomsburg improved to 13-5 on the season, the most wins for the Huskies since the 1990-91 team won 15 matches.

The Huskies will take on Binghamton University on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Nelson Field House.

Nebraska's Mike Koehnlein named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week
By Taylor Wilson
Big 12 Conference
Mike Koehnlein, who went 2-0 in a pair of dual matches, began the weekend by pinning Carlos Castro in 6:20 for his first pin of the season. The senior's victory helped lead the No. 14 Huskers to a 35-8 victory over Arizona State.

The West Minster, Calif.-native then upset Oklahoma State's Josh Kindig (No. 17) by decision, 10-4. Trailing 2-1 entering the second period, Koehnlein used two takedowns and an escape to take the lead at 7-4. Koehnlein then scored a two-point near fall in the final seconds of the match to extend his lead to 10-4 with the riding-time advantage. Koehnlein's victory marked the second nationally-ranked opponent he has defeated this season (No. 20 Kaleb Friedley, Northwestern). 

Aaron Jones named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week
By Bob Healy
Big Ten Conference
Northwestern senior Aaron Jones earns his first career Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award after helping the 17th-ranked Wildcats defeat No. 24 Purdue on Friday. Jones scored a 6-1 decision over seventh-ranked 184-pounder A.J. Kissel, giving the Wildcats three dual points on their way to a 32-6 win. 

Jones picked up two takedowns in the first two periods and limited Kissel to just one escape point in the bout en route to his first win over a ranked opponent this season. The dual win pushed Northwestern’s record to 16-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten competition this season.