BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – West Liberty University’s Jonah Smith picked up this season’s third Mountain East Conference Wrestler of the Week for Coach Danny Irwin’s Hilltoppers when the league office announced this week’s winners on Tuesday.
Smith, a sophomore from Findlay, Ohio who was forced to sit out his entire freshman season due to injury, more than made up for lost time on Saturday with a dominant performance in sweeping his way to the 149-pound championship at the Spartan Mat Classic hosted by Manchester (Ind.) University.
Not only did Smith win all four of his matches by technical fall, only one of his opponents made it to the second period. The title match saw Smith stop Huntingdon's David Burgess on a 16-1 technical fall at 2:39 of the first period.
Smith joins teammates Ty McGeary and Drake Kendrex as this season’s MEC Wrestler of the Week honorees from the hilltop.
The No. 4-ranked West Liberty mat squad heads to South Euclid, Ohio on Thursday to compete in the Notre Dame (Ohio) Duals. The Hilltoppers will take on Glenville State and the host Falcons in the final tune-up before hosting the MEC Championships on Jan. 29.