INDIANAPOLIS – Three programs went to Louisville, home of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals as Great Midwest Athletic Conference Wrestling Athlete of the Week honors were announced on Monday.
 
All five Great Midwest programs are getting ready to head to Painesville, Ohio, with Lake Erie serving as host for this year’s championship dual format on Jan. 21-22.
 
Wrestling Athlete of the Week
Daniel Beemer
Ashland
174 LB
Junior
Ottawa, OH (Glandorf HS)
 
The eighth-ranked Eagles grappled with the No. 3 (Nebraska-Kearney) and No. 6 (McKendree) ranked programs at the NWCA National Duals, a collection of Division II’s best programs in one venue.
 
Beemer was 3-0 in his three matches as Ashland, last year’s conference team champions, also defeated Fort Hays State by a score of 24-15 to open the bracket.
 
The junior All-American is ranked second at his weight class at 174 pounds by InterMat, putting himself squarely as a national title contender as the postseason progresses to Super Regionals and nationals after the conference duals.
 
Beemer defeated UNK’s Billy Higgins with a 9-6 decision in AU’s second matchup of the duals. Higgins is ranked 14th nationally.
 
In his first bout, Beemer registered a 22-6 technical fall vs. Fort Hays State and blanked McKendree’s Josh Jones by a final score of 10-0 in the second round of the consolation quarterfinals.