UNI Wrestling: Max Thomsen Earns Wrestler of the Week

CLEVELAND, Ohio – UNI wrestler No. 9 Max Thomsen earned the MAC's Wrestler of the Week honors after knocking off No. 3 Lavion Mayes and helping the Panthers secure a win over No. 7 Missouri.

Thomsen, a redshirt freshman from La Porte City, Iowa, ended his 2017 dual season with the biggest win of his career at 149 pounds.

His weekend started with a 6-0 decision over Buffalo's No. 29 Colt Cotten. Thomsen had more than 4 minutes of riding time. Thomsen followed it up with knocking off his fifth top-20 ranked opponent in Mayes.

After a scoreless first period, Thomsen earned the first point off an escape. He had Mayes to his back twice in the third period to earn four nearfall points. Thomsen allowed just two escapes to go on to win 9-2, helping No. 19 UNI knock off No. 7 Missouri in the Panthers' final dual of the season. The 25-10 win over Missouri secured the regular-season conference title for UNI.

Mayes had beaten Thomsen 4-2 earlier in the year at the Southern Scuffle. Thomsen finished his regular season ranked third in the MAC at 149 pounds. He finished the dual season 25-4 overall, 11-3 duals, 7-1 in MAC duals.

Thomsen is just the second Panther this season to earn the conference's highest weekly honor. Taylor Lujan was named Wrestler of the Week Dec. 7.

NEXT UP

UNI will host the MAC Championships March 4-5 in the McLeod Center. Tickets are on sale now at UNIPanthers.com or by calling (319) 273-4849.

Price of admission for the tournament is included with all paid season ticket passes. Complimentary season passes do not include the MAC tournament.

Additional Nominees:
Bryan Lantry, Buffalo—Sophomore, Walworth, N.Y. (Wayne High School)
Buffalo sophomore Bryan Lantry went 2-0 on the week, including a win over a nationally ranked opponent. Against Northern Iowa, Lantry earned a 4-3 decision over No. 10 Josh Alber. It marked the fourth time this season he has beaten a ranked opponent. On Sunday, Lantry earned a 16-7 major decision over Alijah Jeffery in a 20-17 win at Northern Illinois. It was the Bulls' fourth MAC dual win of the season, the most by a Buffalo squad since joining the conference in 1998.

CJ Brucki, Central Michigan—Junior, Orland Park, Ill. (Sandburg High School)
Central Michigan junior CJ Brucki won two matches in dominant fashion as the Chippewas rolled to MAC dual victories over Eastern Michigan, 29-3, and Kent State, 40-3. Brucki defeated Jacob Davis of Eastern Michigan, 13-6, and scored an 11-2 major decision win over Shane Mast of Kent State to improve to 25-6 on the season. Brucki has won seven of his last eight matches with the lone loss in that stretch coming to eighth-ranked (InterMat) Myles Amine of Michigan. Brucki finished 7-1 in MAC duals.

Shawn Scott, Northern Illinois—Senior, Holly, Mich. (Holly High School)
Northern Illinois senior Shawn Scott earned his 100th career win as a Huskie. The dual between Scott and Buffalo's Nate Rose was sent into overtime as the score remained tied, 2-2, at the end of the third period. However, Scott secured a takedown in overtime, earning the 100th win of his career (in a 4-2 decision). Scott is now ranked third in all-time career wins for NIU Huskie wrestling, behind Hall of Fame inductee Scott Owen 2003 (116) and Pat Castillo 2008 (108).

Cameron Kelly, Ohio—Sophomore, Bellbrook, Ohio
Ohio sophomore Cameron Kelly dominated both of his opponents this weekend. Kelly's first match on Friday (Feb. 10) came to a halt halfway through the second period as he defeated Old Dominion's Alex Madrigal by technical fall, 17-1. Kelly carried over his dominance into Sunday's (Feb. 12) match at Gardner-Webb as he ended his match with just four ticks remaining in the second period as he defeated Philip Anderson, 22-3, by technical fall for his second victory of the weekend.

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