Wrestler of the Week: Minga Batsukh

The d3wrestle.com/WWSport.com Wrestler of the Week is Minga Batsukh of St. John’s. In winning the North Country Open at 149 this past weekend, Batsukh registered an eye-popping 50 takedowns in five matches to win the tournament. He amassed four technical falls and one major decision en route to the title, including a school record 17 takedowns in a 35-19 first round victory.

Batsukh, a senior from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, by way of St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey, is a three time NCAA qualifier for the Johnnies and the 2x defending NCAA champion at 141 lbs.  This year, at 149, Batsukh is 19-1 and ranked 3rd in the d3wrestle.com rankings. Batsukh and the rest of the Johnnies next take to the mats at this weekend’s Eau Claire Invitational in their last competition before the Great Lakes Regional on February 26th at Lakeland College.

As a side note, this was a tough week to pick a Wrestler of the Week.  Several notable performances took place, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Derek Brenon of Ithaca defeating #1 ranked Jesse Harrington of Delaware Valley
• Jeremy Stierly, also of Ithaca, defeating All-Americans Ryan Bridge of Stevens and Matt Ulrich of Delaware Valley
• Jacob Groth of Wartburg winning over 2010 runner-up Tony Valek of Augsburg
• Top ranked Schmitz of La Crosse and Tate of Wartburg each defeating the wrestler ranked #2 in their weight classes