Bender sets the tone in a big way at the top of the lineup for head coach Rob McCabe and the Panthers’ young program. KWC had three different duals during the week against No. 5 ranked McKendree, Midway and Lincoln, all at home.
The redshirt sophomore delivered bonus points in two of his matches with a pin and a major decision while competing to a decision in his other result.
Bender gave the Panthers a 4-0 lead against Midway with an 11-2 major decision against Andrew Vogeler. He provided early momentum as his next three teammates came through with consecutive winning decisions.
KWC’s first dual victory of 2020-21 came against Lincoln (Ill.) as Bender again provided an early spark at 125. This time he recorded a 73-second pin against Jake Jozwiak and the Panthers would prevail, 24-21.
Bender was 11-12 last season in 2019-20 with a pair of pins and technical falls. This is his first conference career weekly honor.
This is the third season the Kentucky Wesleyan wrestling program has been in existence with the Great Midwest. While the majority of Great Midwest wrestling programs are part of Super Region 3 (Findlay, Lake Erie, Tiffin, Ashland, Ohio Valley), KWC is categorized in Super Region 4 geographically.