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Curt Maas, Northern Iowa—Sophomore, Medford, Minn.
Northern Iowa sophomore Curt Maas took down two nationally ranked Division II opponents to win the Central Missouri Open last weekend. Maas went on a 5-0 run to take the 174-pound title. He pinned Joseph Leach of Cumberland in 3 minutes, 31 seconds. He notched a major decision win over NJCAA All-American Archie Williams of Central Missouri, 15-6. Three-time NWCA qualifier No. 7 Luis Alba of McKendree failed to score against Maas. Maas won 6-0. Maas ended the string of bonus wins No. 2 Zeb Wahle of Maryville had put together. After winning by a fall and two major decisions, Wahle fell to Maas, 3-1. Maas’ final win came over post-collegiate wrestler Roger Smith-Bergsrund. Maas starts the season undefeated at 5-0, and his career record improved to 28-9.
MAC Wrestler of the Week
Alexander Richardson, Old Dominion—Junior, Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter’s Prep)
Old Dominion junior Alexander Richardson won the 149 lbs. bracket at the 2014 North Carolina State Open. Richardson started out the day with two wins by fall over Tyler Haskin (TF, 17-0) of Chattanooga and Johnathan Gahagan (Fall, 0:57) of NC State to advance to the round two of the championship bracket. In round two, Richardson defeated Soloman Chishki of Virginia Tech by a 7-2 decision. In Richardson’s quarterfinal bout, he picked a narrow 1-0 decision over Jack Clark of North Carolina. Richardson advanced to the first-place match after taking down NCAA qualifier and No. 20 Kevin Birmingham by fall (5:21). Last season at the NC State Open, Birmingham got the best of Richardson, as he finished in second place. Richardson closed out the day and secured his first-place finish in the 149 lbs. division by beating Rodney Shepard from NC State by a 1-0 decision.
Additional Nominees:
Nicholas Barber, Eastern Michigan—Sophomore, Cleveland, Ohio (St. Edward H.S.)
Eastern Michigan sophomore Nicholas Barber made his 2014-15 debut at the Eastern Michigan Duals, Nov. 16, taking on two 2014 NCAA qualifiers. In his first bout of the season, Barber matched up against 2013 NCAA Champion Jason Tsirtsis of No. 16 Northwestern. The Cleveland, Ohio native kept Tsirtsis to just one escape through the entire three periods, while grabbing one escape of his own to knot the match at 1-1 with time dwindling on the clock. However, Tsirtsis had eclipsed over one minute of riding time to take the narrow 2-1 victory. In his second bout of the day, Barber got out to a quick lead over SIUE’s Karsten Van Velsor before capping off the bout with a 15-5 major decision. Barber grabbed his second victory of the day at 149 lbs. shutting out two-time NCAA qualifier Dan Neff of Lock Haven in a 2-0 decision to improve his record to 2-1 overall.
Caleb Marsh, Kent State—Senior, Marysville, Ohio
Kent State senior Caleb Marsh went 3-0 with a pair of major decisions at the Eastern Michigan Duals last Saturday. Marsh defeated Michigan State’s Nick Proctor 12-0 and Lock Haven’s Tyler Wood 10-0 in the Flashes’ 22-18 victory over the Bald Eagles. Marsh closed the day out with a 5-3 overtime victory over Chattanooga’s Sean Mappes, who was ranked No. 26 by Wrestling Report.
Matt Manley, Missouri—Sophomore, Perry, Okla.
Missouri sophomore Matt Manley improved to 6-0 this season after gaining two wins via fall on Nov. 15, 2014. Manley took down Truman State’s Ethan Rentschler in 1:23 and then Missouri Baptist’s Troy Reed in 2:37. The 2014 NCAA Nationals qualifier looks for a breakout season this year and is off to a great start. Took home the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open 133-pound championship after finishing a perfect 4-0 in Ames, Iowa. Manley is ranked as high as 13th in the country in his respective weight class (according to Intermat and The Open Mat rankings).
Shawn Scott, Northern Illinois—Sophomore, Holly, Mich. (Holly High School)
Northern Illinois sophomore Shawn Scott had a great weekend at the Eastern Michigan Duals, going 4-0 on the day. The Holly, Michigan, native began the day with a 16-3 major decision against Olivet’s Thomas Hall, then scored a 7-2 decision against Vincent Pickett of Edinboro. In the afternoon matches, Scott topped Chattanooga’s Scottie Boykin, 7-3, before scoring a 13-4 major decision against Ryan Darch of Clarion to end the day. Scott is now 9-3 on the year with three major decisions.
Tywan Claxton, Ohio—Junior, South Euclid, Ohio (Brush High School)
Ohio junior Tywan Claxton recorded three victories on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Eastern Michigan Duels, highlighting the day by defeating No. 12 Michigan’s Alec Pantaleo in a 4-3 decision. Claxton also posted a 13-4 major decision win over Karsten Van Velsor of Southern Illinois Edwardsville. The 149-class grappler is currently undefeated on the season, holding a 8-0 record.