Cottrell Garners Big 12 Honor

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University wrestler Dylan Cottrell has been named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week for his efforts in leading the Mountaineers’ to a pair of wins this past weekend. The accolade was announced by the league on Wednesday morning.

WVU wrapped up its home slate on Friday evening with a 30-6 win over Clarion at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers then capped the regular season with an 18-14 victory over Edinboro in Pennsylvania on Saturday evening.

“I’m proud of Dylan and the way he has represented the Mountaineers this season,” said WVU coach Sammie Henson. “It’s a nice way to finish off the regular season.”

Ranked No. 16 in the nation at 157 pounds, Cottrell scored nine team points in helping WVU go 2-0 on the weekend. In Friday’s match against Clarion, the Spencer, West Virginia, native scored an early takedown on Jake Keller before turning him for four back points to lead 6-0 early in the first. Soon after, he put Keller to the mat for the pin just 1:35 into the bout to score six points for the Mountaineers.

On Saturday, Cottrell, who was ranked No. 17 last week, topped then-No. 15/16 Austin Matthews of Edinboro in a 4-1 decision. The junior again used a first-period takedown for an early lead before adding an escape in the second for a 3-1 advantage. Matthews scored his lone point of the match on a penalty by Cottrell, who added a point with 1:57 riding time for the 4-1 win. The Mountaineers’ triumph of the Fighting Scots was their first since 2012.

It marks the second time this season a WVU wrestler has earned the Big 12 honor. Jacob A. Smith was previously named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 10, 2015.

Cottrell and the rest of the Mountaineers will travel to Kansas City on March 5-6 for the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship. The 10-team tournament, which will be held at the Sprint Center, will feature a new two-day format after the league announced the addition of six new programs in the summer of 2015.

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Cottrell Garners Big 12 Honor

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