Irving, Texas (Dec. 20, 2017) – After earning the 141 pound title at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday and upsetting No. 1 Dean Heil on Tuesday night, senior
Bryce Meredith was not only named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Wednesday afternoon, but was voted as the NCAA Wrestler of the Week as well. He also picked up TheMat.com Athlete of the Week by USA Wrestling on Tuesday afternoon before the dual with Oklahoma State. It's the second Big 12 Honor for the two-time All-American and first from USA Wrestling while wearing the Brown and Gold. With a 71-percent majority from a Twitter poll, Meredith claimed the NCAA award.
The Cheyenne native rolled through tough competition in Reno that included two wins over top-five opponents and closed out Tuesday's dual in his hometown with a 2-1 double overtime win over the two-time defending NCAA Champion. In all, the senior currently holds a 13-1 overall record and has won eight matches over ranked opponents.
Entering Reno as the No. 2 seed, Meredith pinned his way to the semifinals. He tallied three first-period falls for a total of 3:39 spent on the mat in his opening three matches, collectively.
In the semifinals, he took on No. 5 Jaydin Eierman of Missouri in a top-five matchup, where fourth-ranked Meredith emerged with a 3-2 victory. The finals pitted Meredith against his long-time friend and familiar foe No. 2 Kevin Jack of North Carolina State. The two met earlier in the year at the NWCA All-Star Classic, where Jack grabbed an 8-7 win.
Meredith went on to avenge the loss on Sunday, defeating Jack, 4-3, to win the championship at 141 pounds.
On Tuesday night, the senior snapped Heil's 55-match winning streak with the double overtime victory. After the first period ended scoreless, No. 1-ranked Heil took a 1-0 lead on an escape. Meredith answered with an escape of his own in the third period after to eventually send the match to overtime at 1-1. Meredith rode out Heil in the first overtime period, then escaped in the second and held off two shot attempts for the win in front of his hometown crowd.
Wyoming will hit the mat after the New Year at the North Carolina Duals. The Pokes are set to compete against North Carolina, Duke, Army and American on Jan. 5 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
