Matt Pyle, Luther College, Merrill, Kan./Sabetha
Pyle, a senior, was named Dick Walker Outstanding Wrestler of the Iowa Conference Championship after winning his second IIAC title at 149-pounds. The top-seed won all three of his matches by fall, including a pin of Central’s Nick Wordes at 0:35 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he pinned Simpson’s Curtis Barber, the #4-seed, at 4:08 and then pinned the #3-seed Adam Weber of Wartburg at 1:55 of the Championship match. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Kyle Forness, Buena Vista Univ. Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus
Forness, a sophomore 157-pounder, won his lone match of the week by technical fall over Wartburg’s Chris Sandy (17-2, 7:00).

Aaron Wernimont, Wartburg College, Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas
Wernimont, a sophomore, went 2-0 at 157-pounds with a pair of victories over nationally ranked opponents. The fourth-ranked wrestler in the nation, Wernimont won by technical fall over Cornell’s Pat McAuley (18-3; 7:00), who is ranked fifth nationally. Wernimont used a reversal in the final 45-seconds of his match against top-ranked Jeremy Anderson of Augsburg to secure a 4-2 decision and lead the #2 Knights to a win over top ranked Augsburg (19-13).

Kyle Forness, Buena Vista University, Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus
Forness, a sophomore, went 5-0 during the week at 157-pounds with a pair of major decisions and a pair of victories over ranked opponents. He won by decision over the fourth and seventh-ranked wrestlers in the nation, Cornell’s Pat McAuley (12-10) and Coe’s Tyler Burkle (5-2), respectively. Forness also registered major decisions over Central’s Ryan DeVriendt (16-5) and Luther’s Yonny Quist (8-0) to go along with a decision over Loras’ Billy Smith (10-3). (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Jason Knipp, Wartburg College, Gilbertville, Iowa/Don Bosco
Knipp, a senior, went 2-0 at 165-pounds during the week with a technical fall and a decision over a nationally ranked opponent. He defeated Luther’s Nate Van Dyke, ranked eighth nationally, 3-2, as Wartburg won its 108th consecutive dual against Conference competition. Knipp also recorded a technical fall of UW-Stevens Point’s Josh Ison (22-7, 7:00).

Matt Pyle, Luther College, Merrill, Kan./Sabetha
Pyle, a senior, went 5-0 at 149-pounds at the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals with two falls, a major decision and two decisions over nationally ranked opponents to lead Luther to a fifth-place finish. He pinned McDaniel’s Eric Preefer (1:35) and Coe’s Niles Mercer (1:34), and recorded a major decision over Cornell’s Dave Paramski (12-4) in the fifth-place match. The third-ranked wrestler in country, Pyle won by decision over the fifth-ranked wrestler, Heidleberg’s Joe Pflug (6-2), who is the defending national champion at 157-pounds, and the eighth-ranked wrestler, Delaware Valley’s Jaryd Steinbacher (14-7). (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Nick Nothern, Cornell College, Salina, Kan./Salina South
Nothern, a freshman, won the 133-pound weight class at the Cornell Matman Invitational. He opened the Tournament with a pin of Central’s Nick Johnson (3:59) then posted three straight decisions – 6-0 over Wartburg’s Sean White, 9-4 over St. John’s (Minn.) Tim Thompson and 8-5 over William Penn’s Nick Cucciniello – to get into the Championship match. In the final, unranked Nothern defeated the fourth-ranked Jestin Hulegaard of Buena Vista on riding time criteria following a 5-5 double-overtime tie.

Blake Gillis, Wartburg College, Spencer, Iowa/Spencer
Gillis, a senior heavyweight, posted a 9-1 record with three technical falls, a major decision, a fall and five victories over Division I opponents. He posted a 3-0 record at the Desert Duals including a major decision over Menlo’s Jacob Hallmark (10-2), a pin of King’s Jim Bishop (1:08) and a technical fall over Ohio Northern’s Adam Kosch (2:22). Gillis placed third at the Midlands Championship hosted by Northwestern University, defeating two Division I ranked wrestlers among the six Division I competitors he faced in seven matches at the Tournament. He opened with back-to-back 15-0 technical falls over UW-LaCrosse’s Dan Laurent (4:11) and Northern Illinois’ Jeff Burdorf (2:57). After suffering his lone defeat, a 2-1 decision to Northwestern’s Dustin Fox, Gillis rebounded to defeat Indiana’s Josh Buuck (6-3), Michigan State’s Alan O’Donnell (3-0), Iowa’s Matt Fields (4-3) and Central Michigan’s Bubba Gritter (7-3). Fields and Gritter are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively in Division I. Laurent was Gillis lone non-Division I opponent at the Midlands. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Chris Heilman, Cornell College, Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary’s
Heilman, a junior ranked second nationally at 125-pounds, won both of his matches by fall during the week. He pinned North Central (Ill.)’s Joey Norton at 2:13 in Cornell’s 25-14 loss to the #9-ranked team in Division III and pinned Augustana (Ill.)’s George Gogonas at 3:33 in the Rams’ 41-9 win. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Jay Figgins, Loras College, Clinton, Iowa/Clinton
Figgins, a junior, posted a 5-0 record during the week with four falls and won the 184-pound weight class at the Dick Walker Invitational. In a dual meet victory over Dubuque, Figgins pinned Anthony Higgins at 1:47. At the Dick Walker, he had two more first period falls, including wins over Coe’s Jacob Brinkman (at 1:30) and Augustana (Ill.)’s Brian Kerr (at 0:27). Figgins also pinned Iowa Central’s Nate Willard (at 3:31) and won by medical forfeit over Wartburg’s Romeo Djoumessi. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Wade Hammen, Buena Vista University, Rockwell City, Iowa/Rockwell City-Lytton
Hammen, a senior, went 4-1 in his first week of competition after joining the team following the Buena Vista football season and placed second in the heavyweight division at the University of Northern Iowa Open. In the Beavers’ dual meet victory over Morningside, he won by decision over Kiel Ploen, 8-4. At UNI, Hammen defeated Luther’s Jake Mandrinich (8-1) then faced three straight Division I opponents. He won by decision over Northern Illinois’ Dave Benner (3-2), won by default over Wisconsin’s Kyle Massey, and lost to UNI’s Tyler Rhodes (8-5), a 2006 NCAA qualifier, in the Championship match. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Brian Borchers, Wartburg College, Holstein, Iowa/Galva-Holstein
Borchers, a senior, won the Gold Division heavyweight title at the Augsburg-Brute-Adidas Open pinning all three opponents in under four minutes. He pinned Augsburg’s Evan Osterhoudt at 1:38, UW-Eau Claire’s Justin McAuly at 3:59 and, in the Championship match, Augsburg’s Andrew Witzel at 1:52. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Matt Pyle, Luther College, Merrill, Kan./Sabetha
Pyle, a senior, won the 149-pound Gold Division title at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointer Open, posting a 4-0 record with victories over Division I and II wrestlers. He won by decision over UW-Stevens Point’s Mo Malone (6-2) and UW-LaCrosse’s Jay Wiltz (6-0). In the semifinals, he pinned (3:06) Division I Northern Illinois’ Mike Grimes, who posted a 26-8 record last year. He defeated Minnesota State-Mankato’s Jason Rhoten by major decision (9-1) in the Championship match. Rhoten was the Division II National Champion at 141-lbs last year. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)