Citadel's Khishignyam honored by Southern Conference

Spartanburg, S.C.  – The Citadel wrestling team earned its second wrestler of the week award on Wednesday when the league office named 141-pounder Ugi Khishignyam as the conference's top grappler for his performance in last Thursday's dual match against Davidson.

Ugi helped the Bulldogs to a 32-12 win over Davidson in their SoCon opener at McAlister Field House on Dec. 6. The redshirt freshman posted a 21-6 technical fall over the Wildcats' Sejiro Littleton in his first-ever league bout.

The Mongolia native, ranked seventh nationally at 141, improved to 14-2 on the year and 2-0 in dual meets. The award is the first of the young wrestler's career.

"This is a nice accolade for Ugi" said Head Coach Rob Hjerling "He has had a good start to this year, and we are looking forward to see how him and the rest of the team do this weekend in Reno."

The Citadel (1-1, 1-0 SoCon) will be back in action on Sunday when it heads to Reno, Nev., to wrestle in the always competitive Reno Tournament of Champions.

Wyoming's Brandon Richardson Earns WWC Weekly Award
The 149-pound sophomore upset No. 6 Nick Lester of Oklahoma

OREM, Utah (Dec. 11, 2012) University of Wyoming 149-pound sophomore Brandon Richardson earned his first career Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week honor after upsetting sixth-ranked Nick Lester of Oklahoma over the weekend. The conference honor was announced Tuesday by the league.

After Oklahoma took a 10-3 lead after three matches on Dec. 7, Richardson gave the Cowboys a spark in the dual versus the Sooners. The Rathdrum, Idaho, native took on the sixth-ranked wrestler in the nation at 149 pounds in OU's Lester and earned the biggest win of his career by upsetting him. Richardson beat Lester for the first time ever in a gritty 4-3 decision on the road. Richardson avenged an 8-1 loss to Lester on Jan. 4, 2012.

The victory gave UW three team points in a close dual, and allowed No. 20 Wyoming to upset 10th-ranked Oklahoma, 25-13.

It was Richardson's ninth win of the year and first versus a ranked wrestler. The conference honor was also his first of the season and the first of his career. 

The Western Wrestling Conference, which is in its seventh year of competition, is comprised of six schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming.

2012-13 WWC Wrestlers of the Week
Nov. 6 - Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming)
Nov. 13 - Josh Wilson (Utah Valley)
Nov. 20 - Cole VonOhlen (Air Force)
Nov. 27 - Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State)
Dec. 4 - Steven Monk (North Dakota State)
Dec. 11 - Brandon Richardson (Wyoming)

McAfee named RMAC Wrestler of the Week

Perry McAfee, Chadron State
Senior, 133
Casper, Wyo./ Clackamas HS

McAfee went 2-0 in tough matches against Dickinson State and Northern State last week for the Eagles. He earned a 5-2 decision over Dickinson State’s Mack Chambers on Wednesday and then followed with a 12-3 major decision over Northern State’s Tyler Frost Saturday. He currently has a record of 5-5 on the season and is 2-0 during dual meets.

Alexander Selected ACC Wrestler of the Week
It is the second time this season Alexander has received the award

GREENSBORO, N.C. – University of Maryland sophomore wrestler Geoffrey Alexander was selected Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week after winning two matches over the weekend in a pair of dual meets, the league announced Tuesday.

In his hometown of Pittsburgh on Friday, Alexander, ranked 11th nationally at 133 pounds, continued his strong start to the season with a 3-2 decision over then-No. 6 Shelton Mack. It is Alexander’s third win in four tries against a nationally-ranked opponent.

Sunday night at American, the sophomore earned valuable bonus points with a 13-2 major decision over the Eagles’ Esteban Gomez-Rivera in the Terps’ 23-21 win.

Alexander is 10-3 and is second on the team in dual points scored (23), tied for second in dual wins (6), and is tied for the team lead in pins (4).

It is the second time this season Alexander has been honored as ACC Wrestler of the Week and it marks the third time a Terrapin wrestler has received the award. Alexander received the honor for the week of Nov. 5 after going undefeated at the Terrapin Duals.

Iowa’s St. John Earns Big Ten Weekly Wrestling Award
Hawkeye junior scored win over top-five opponent

Wrestler of the Week
Derek St. John, Iowa
157 – Jr. – Parnell, Iowa – Iowa City West

· Posted a 6-0 decision over Lehigh’s fourth-ranked Joey Napoli
· Scored two takedowns, one escape and compiled 2:02 of riding time to earn the shutout
· Helped No. 4 Iowa defeat No. 23 Lehigh, 26-9, to move to 7-0 this season
· Currently ranked first nationally at 157 pounds
· Collects the first weekly award of his career
· Last Iowa Wrestler of the Week: Matt McDonough (Nov. 20, 2012)

2012-13 Big Ten Wrestlers of the Week
Nov. 6                   Tony Dallago, Jr., ILL
Nov. 13                 Michael McClure, Jr., MSU
Nov. 20                 Matt McDonough, Sr., IOWA
Nov. 27                 Daryl Thomas, Sr., ILL
Dec. 4                    Logan Stieber, So., OSU
Dec. 11                 Derek St. John, Jr., IOWA

SCSU's Shamus O'Grady Named NSIC Wrestler of the Week

St. Cloud State University redshirt senior Shamus O'Grady (Coon Rapids) was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 10.  This marks the second time this season that O'Grady has earned NSIC Wrestler of the Week honors.

O'Grady claimed first place honors in the 184-pound division at the 2012 Holiday Inn/Husky Open on Saturday, Dec. 8 in St. Cloud.  O'Grady dominated competition at the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record.  He scored three falls in his first three matches of the day and this run included a :49 pin against St. John's Simon Liedtke, a 1:30 pin against Matt Beehler of MSU Moorhead and a 2:45 pin against John DeVito of U-Mary. 

In the title bout, O'Grady charted an 8-7 decision win over Luke Rynish.  An unattached wrestler, Rynish was a three-time NCAA Division II runner-up during his collegiate career at UW-Parkside. 

For his efforts, O'Grady was named the Husky Open John Oxton Award winner (Outstanding Wrestler) and the Husky Open Jack Gause Award winner (most falls in the least amount of time) for 2012.  O'Grady owns a 7-1 record this season for the Huskies.

SCSU will open its 2012-13 season on Dec. 11 with a 7 p.m. home match against Concordia College in Halenbeck Hall.  Tickets for the match are available at the gate or for more information visit www.scsutickets.com.

CLARION’S FLEMING EARNS PSAC & EWL WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

(Clarion, Pa.): Clarion senior All-America wrestler James Fleming (West Mifflin), ranked third in the nation at 157, was named today as the PSAC and EWL “Wrestler of the Week” for the second straight week, as he won the PSAC individual title at 157 on Saturday and was named the PSAC Tournament’s “OW”  for his performance.

The 70th Annual PSAC Wrestling Championships were hosted by Kutztown on Saturday at Keystone Arena, where Fleming posted a 3-0 mark, raising his season record to 15-0.

In the championship finals Fleming defeated Lock Haven’s Jacob Kemerer by 10-0 major decision. After no scoring in the first period, Fleming chose top in the second and turned Kemerer three times to take a 9-0 lead. No scoring in the third period, but 2-minutes of riding time gave Fleming a 10-0 victory. It was his second PSAC title in his career, winning the championship at 157-pounds in 2010. He was second a year ago, and fourth as a freshman in 2009. 

Fleming opened with a pin over John Lindquist (Shipp) at 2:28 and also pinned Mike DePalma (Edinboro) at 6:07 in the semi’s.  He now has a career mark of 107-16 including 33 career falls and 17 technical falls.

A Sports Management major at Clarion, he is the son of John Fleming and Regina Fitzhenry.

CLARION NOTES: Fleming won the awards the week before when he won the Nittany Lion Open … Fleming will be leading the Golden Eagles in a double dual at Edinboro on Saturday… At 1pm the Golden Eagles will wrestle #12 ranked Northwestern at 1pm … Fleming, ranked #3 in the nation, will wrestle #2 ranked Jason Welch of the Wildcats in a big individual bout …. Edinboro will follow wrestling Northwestern at approximately 3pm, then Clarion will wrestle Edinboro immediately following…