Askren Named TheMat.com Athlete of the Week
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John Fuller (TheMat.com)
03/10/2004
Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) has been named TheMat.com Athlete of the Week for the week of March 2-8. Each week, TheMat.com will select an Athlete of the Week, based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling, from youth programs through the Senior level. The announcement will be made each week on Wednesday. Askren, a freshman, won the 174-pound title at the 2004 Big XII Championships and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. In the finals, Askren defeated All-American Chris Pendleton of Oklahoma State, 9-7. Pendleton was 29-0 on the season heading into the match, at the time, one of only seven undefeated wrestlers in Division I. In the semifinals, Askren pinned E.K. Waldhaus of Oklahoma in the first period. So far this season, Askren is 29-4. Three of those losses are to Pendleton. Askren, a 2002 Junior freestyle national champion, is the son of Chuck and Michele Askren. He has one brother, Max. He was named as a first-team member of the 2004 Big XII All-Academic Team. THEMAT.COM ATHLETES OF THE WEEK FOR 2004 March 2-8 - Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) Feb. 24-March 1 - Brandon Paulson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) Feb. 17-23 - Alex Tsirtsis (Griffith, Ind.) Feb. 10-16 - Tyrone Lewis (El Reno, Okla.) Feb. 3-9 - Eric Larkin (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) Jan. 27-Feb. 2 - Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) Jan. 20-26 - Sara McMann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)