JESSE JANTZEN, JODY STRITTMATTER, SHON LEWIS HONORED AS THEMAT.COM WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK OF FEB. 28-MARCH 5themat.com has named its National Wrestlers of the Week for Feb. 28-March 5, 2000.
The winner of themat.com High School Wrestler of the Week is Jesse Jantzen of Shoreham, N.Y.
The winner of themat.com College Wrestler of the Week is Jody Strittmatter of the University of Iowa
The winner of themat.com International Wrestler of the Week is Shon Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army).
themat.com will announce Wrestlers of the Week in a number of age group levels, which will be posted on the web page and promoted to the national media.
High School Wrestler of the Week: Jesse Jantzen, Shoreham, N.Y.
Jantzen, who attends Shoreham-Wading River High School in New York, became the first four-time state champion in the history of the New York state Championships. He won the 145-pound title, defeating Ben Morczek of South Lewis High School in the finals by technical fall, 16-1 in 2:08. Jantzen was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, which was held in Syracuse, N.Y., March 3-4. He ended his career with an amazing 214-3 record, including a state record 157-match winning streak. He will attend Harvard University next year.
College Wrestler of the Week: Jody Strittmatter, University of Iowa
Strittmatter won the 125-pound title at the Big Ten Championships which was held at Purdue University, March 4-5. In the finals, he defeated Jeremy Hunter of Penn State, the nation's top-ranked wrestler, 3-2. Strittmatter was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. It was the first time that Strittmatter had ever beaten Hunter, although they had wrestled over a dozen times going back to their high school days. His victory helped lead the University of Iowa to the team title by seven points over Minnesota, which snapped Iowa's streak of 25 consecutive Big Ten titles last year.
International Wrestler of the Week: Shon Lewis of the U.S. Army
Lewis won a silver medal at 138.75 pounds at the Greco-Roman Olympic Qualification Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 4-5. Lewis earned the United States an important 12 points toward Olympic qualification, which should help the U.S. to earn a position in the Olympics at his weight class. Lewis went 3-1 in the tournament, losing only to Andras Horvath of Hungary in the finals, 3-2. He won by referee's decision over Sevket Karapinar of Germany, 2-0, in the first match. In the re-wrestle of a protested match, he beat Emil Budinov of Bulgaria, 3-2, in the second round. Lewis wrestled an inspired semifinals, scoring the winning point in overtime to defeat Yi Shanyun of China, 3-2 in 6:40.
themat.com is "The Ultimate Source for Real Wrestling." It is being developed into the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance, which includes USA Wrestling, the National Wrestling Coaches Association and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. The soft launch of the new page page is expected in late March.
The goal of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance is to develop themat.com into the most comprehensive web page in the wrestling market, as well as one of the most popular sports sites on the entire internet.