MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
MAC Wrestler of the Week
Nathan McCormick, Missouri—Senior, Learwood, Kan. (Blue Valley North High School)
Missouri senior Nathan McCormick had a strong performance in the inaugural Grapple at the Garden last weekend. McCormick defeated No. 8 Naryman Arujau of Cornell by major decision, 11-3 in Mizzou's first dual, followed by No. 19 Nick Wilcox of Bloomsburg in the Tigers' second dual in a 5-2 decision. He got off to a quick start against Arujau, with two takedowns in the first period, followed by another takedown in the third along with four back points. The No. 8 Arujau was only able to muster a few escapes against McCormick. In his match against Wilcox of Bloomsburg, McCormick tallied two takedowns in the first period once again en route to the victory. McCormick's only loss of the season came at the Cliff Keen Invitational in the championship final against No. 1 Logan Steiber of Ohio State. McCormick holds a career record of 72-40 at Mizzou.
Additional Nominees:
Justin Melick, Eastern Michigan—Freshman, Fenton, Mich. (Fenton High School)
Eastern Michigan redshirt freshman Justin Melick knotted the dual against Big Ten Conference foe Indiana at 6-6, with a 5-4 victory at 149 lb. weight class. Melick improved to 10-9 on the year with the victory. In total, Eastern Michigan split 10 matches with Indiana, 18-18, but the Hoosiers outscored the Eagles, 36-33, in match points and earned a 19-18 victory via the third tiebreaker.
Nick Carr, Kent State—Freshman, South Fayette, Pa. (South Fayette High School)
Kent State redshirt freshman Nick Carr upset No. 10 Cam Tessari of Ohio State, 10-3, in his first career dual meet. Four days later in his first MAC dual, he defeated Rob Jillard of Northern Illinois 10-4. Jillard entered the day 13-4 on the year. Carr’s win was the first of six straight for the Golden Flashes in a 29-9 victory over the Huskies. Carr improved to 14-4 on the season and is ranked No. 31 according to WrestlingReport.com.
Jared Torrence, Northern Illinois—Junior, Norwalk, Ohio (Norwalk High School)
Northern Illinois junior Jared Torrence notched a big win Tuesday, defeating 2012 NCAA Championships qualifier Keith Witt of Kent State by a 2-1 decision. After getting an early takedown, Torrence withstood several attacks to keep the win. The win was Torrence's ninth on the year and improves his record against 2012 national qualifiers to 1-2.
Cody Caldwell, Northern Iowa—Freshman, Waverly, Iowa (Waverly-Shell Rock High School)
Northern Iowa redshirt freshman Cody Caldwell helped lead his team to a dominating win last week over Ellsworth Community College. He earned his second technical fall to help the team win 46-9. His quickest pin of three this year was recorded in 1:23. He is undefeated in duals and ranked 19th by Amateur Wrestling News. He was the champion at the Northern Iowa Open and in the maroon division for upperclassmen at the Finn Grinaker Cobber Open. He placed seventh at the Cliff Keen Invite Dec. 1. His overall record is 14-2. He hasn’t wrestled in a MAC dual yet.
Cody Walters, Ohio—Freshman, Macedonia, Ohio (St. Peter Chanel High School)
Ohio redshirt freshman Cody Walters posted a perfect 5-0 mark en route to a winning performance at 174 pounds on Sunday at the 2012 Reno Tournament of Champions. Walters’ winning performance helped lead Ohio to a seventh-place finish, finishing with 61.0 points. Walters, who entered the week ranked No. 20 in the InterMat.com Poll, improved his record to 18-0 on the year.