O'Donnell named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week

Tela O'Donnell (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) has been named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for the week of October 5-11. Each week, TheMat.com will select an Athlete of the Week, based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling, from youth programs through the Senior level. The announcement will be made each week on Wednesday. O'Donnell won a silver medal at 55 kg/121 lbs. at the Women's World Cup of freestyle wrestling, October 8-9 in Tokyo, Japan. O'Donnell had a 4-1 record in the tournament. Three of her victories were by pins. She pinned Sunita Sharmaa of India in 1:24, Natalia Karamchakova of Russia in 4:26 and Laura McDougall of Canada in 57 seconds. Her other victory was an 8-5 decision over China's Sun Dongmei, who placed fifth at the 2004 Olympic Games. Her only loss came to 2004 Olympic champion and two-time World champion Saori Yoshida of Japan. Yoshida jumped to a 5-1 lead, but O'Donnell fought back to tie the match at 5-5. In one active exchange, Yoshida scored five points on the mat to take a 10-5 lead and went on to win, 12-5. Yoshida has now won 79 straight matches against international opponents. O'Donnell was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, placing sixth at the Athens Games. She was a 2003 U.S. Nationals champion, and beat two-time World silver medallist Tina George to earn her spot on the U.S. Olympic team. She is a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete. Click here to view previous Athletes of the Week