Jan. 5, 2009
DALLAS -
Missouri's Mark Ellis was selected as the first Big 12 Wrestler of the Week of 2009 for competition through January 5. This is Ellis' first career weekly award, as he becomes just the second heavyweight in Missouri history to win since the conference's inaugural 1996-97 season.
Ellis collected the heavyweight title at the Midlands Tournament on Dec. 29-30, in Evanston, Ill. En route to his first Midlands Championship, he held off No. 6 Zach Sheaffer of Pittsburgh, 2-1, and No. 16 Rashard Goff of Cleveland State, 3-1. To date, the junior has beaten four ranked grapplers, three among the top 10 in the nation. Ellis' five wins helped Missouri to a third-place finish at the tournament, which featured 11 of the nation's top-25 teams.
Having been ranked as high as third nationally already this season, Ellis has held four of his five opponents to one point and allowed two points in his second match. Collectively, he has outscored his opponents 23-6. After posting a 5-0 mark at Midlands, the Missouri native now stands at 20-1 on the season and 57-24 in his three-year Tiger career.
