Wrestler of the Week: Bradan Birt

The d3wrestle.com Wrestler of the Week is Bradan Birt of Millikin. Birt won the Pete Willson Wheaton Invitational last weekend at 165 lbs. He started the weekend with three first period falls before registering a tech fall against d3wrestle.com Contender Casey Allen of Cornell in the semifinals. That set up a finals match with #7 ranked Brandon Peckham of UW-Stevens Point. After a scoreless first period, Birt used an escape and reversal to get on top where he secured the fall as time ran out in the second period. With four falls, Birt won the Most Falls award for the event and was named Outstanding Wrestler. Birt’s father, Millikin head coach Ryan Birt, won the same tournament in 1999 and was also named Outstanding Wrestler that year. Additionally, Birt was named CCIW Wrestler of the Week for the second time this season.

Birt, a senior from Epworth, Iowa, is currently 30-0 this season with 17 falls and is ranked #1 in the d3wrestle.com Rankings. He won the Millikin Open to go along with this championship this past weekend. He placed 7th in the 2018 NCAA Championships and 6th at the 2019 Championships. He was the #2 seed at the canceled 2020 NCAA tournament and was the 165 lbs. champion at the NWCA DIII Championships last March. His career record is 148-13. Millikin’s next scheduled event is the CCIW Championships on February 10th at Wheaton.