KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Jan. 26, 2021) - The MIAA announced its third wrestling athlete of the week award for the 2020-21 season. This week's honors were shared by John Ridle of Central Missouri and Paxton Rosen of Central Oklahoma.
Ridle is off to an undefeated to start the season with a 4-0 record. He was the lone winner in UCM's season opener against No. 5 McKendree with a 7-2 decision over Josh Romas at 157 pounds. Ridle then went 3-0 at the Midwest Duals with three decision victories at 157 pounds. Ridle defeated UCO's second-ranked Ty Lucas in a 3-0 decision. Ridle also defeated Chardon State's Preston Renner in a 4-2 match, and Adam States Dylan Udero 9-5.
Rosen had a dominating performance at the Midwest Duals as No. 3-ranked UCO rolled to three easy wins. The junior 125-pounder recorded a fall and two technical falls, with none of his three matches going past the first period. He scored a fall in 2:27 against Central Missouri, scoring a 20-4 technical fall in 2:23 against Western Colorado and needed just 1:55 to register a 16-1 technical fall against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. Rosen tallied 10 takedowns and eight near-falls in his three wins.
Notable Performances
Matt Malcom - Nebraska-Kearney
Malcom had another dominating weekend as he helped the No. 2 Lopers easily defeat NE Oklahoma A&M, No. 10 Adams State and CSU-Pueblo at the annual Midwest Duals. Malcom won by scores of 17-1, 16-0 and 16-3. He is now 8-0 with each winning being of the bonus point variety.
Nate Panagakis - Newman
Panagakis went 3-0 last weekend in the Midwest Duals hosted by Nebraska Kearney. He would win his first match with a 7-5 decision, his second with an 8-3 decision and his final match of the day would end up being a sudden victory 5-3.
Mason Turner - Fort Hays State
Turner turned in a 3-0 record at Saturday's Midwest Duals. The sophomore recorded three first period bonus point wins, pinning his opponent from CSU-Pueblo in 2:46 before racking up a pair of technical falls in less than two minutes. Turner won 16-0 in just 1:54 against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before defeating his Western Colorado opponent 18-0 in 1:44. Turner is now 6-1 on the year with three wins via pin and two wins via tech fall.