Conel Named MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week
3/21/2018 3:56:00 PM | Wrestling
Kent State junior 197-pounder Kyle Conel (Ashtabula, Ohio) was named Mid-American Conference Male Scholar Athlete of the Week Wednesday, following his breakthrough performance at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Â Conel entered the tournament unseeded in the pigtail round Thursday and came away with a third place on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.
A computer science major, Conel carries a 3.355 cumulative grade point average. The MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honor is presented weekly to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better and performs well during the week's competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.
After going 6-1 with two pins in Cleveland, Conel received a standing ovation from thousands of wrestling fans. Â He defeated the No. 1 seed Kollin Moore (Ohio State) twice and earned victories over the No. 8 (Nate Rotert/South Dakota State) and No. 9 (Preston Weigel/Oklahoma State) seeds.
Since 1942, Dustin Kilgore and Don Horning are the only other Kent State wrestlers to finish third or better at the NCAA Championships. Conel also matched a program record for wins at the NCAA Championships.
With 22.5 points, the Golden Flashes finished tied for 22nd place in the team standings, giving Kent State its sixth Top 25 finish since 2009. Conel ended the year with 30 victories and seven pins.
Players Mentioned
