Will Lewan named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week

Will Lewan in the third place match at the 2016 IHSA State Championships. Photo: Akayna Calkins, PremiumPreps.com.

Will Lewan (Chicago, Ill./Montini Catholic) has been selected as TheMat.com Athlete of the Week on June 21, 2016.


The Illinois product Lewan went undefeated in both Greco-Roman and freestyle competition at the 2016 USA Wrestling Cadet National Duals held in York, Pa., and helped guide Team Illinois to a first place finish in freestyle and a third place finish in Greco-Roman.


Lewan won nine matches at 138 pounds over the course of the four-day tournament for Team Illinois, four in Greco-Roman and five in freestyle. He won all nine of his bouts by technical fall and outscored his opponents by a combined 89-4 margin.


In the freestyle championship dual, Lewan catapulted Team Illinois into the lead for good with a 10-0 technical fall over Pennsylvania Blue’s Carnell Andrews in the second to last match of the dual. Illinois topped Pennsylvania, 40-34, to take the Cadet Duals freestyle crown.


Lewan won Illinois state championships at the Cadet level in both freestyle and Greco-Roman this year. He earned a fifth place finish at the UWW Cadet Freestyle Nationals held in Akron, Ohio two weeks ago. Lewan also doubled up on All-American honors at the 2015 Cadet Nationals in Fargo, N.D.


Wrestling for Montini Catholic High School, Lewan has placed third and fourth at the IHSA State Championships in the past two seasons. He will compete for Team Illinois at the Junior National Duals in Tulsa, Okla. this week.


Each week USA Wrestling 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.


To nominate a wrestler for USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week please send the athlete’s name, wrestling program and weekly and career accomplishments to Richard Immel at rimmel@usawrestling.org.