Nick Becker named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week

Nick Becker (Hartford, Wisc./University of Wisconsin-Parkside) has been selected as TheMat.com Athlete of the Week on March 13, 2018.

A senior for the UW Parkside Rangers, Becker won his third-consecutive national title at the NCAA Div. II Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last weekend. In the finals, he defeated No. 2 Nolan Kistler of California Baptist, 8-4, to defend his 174-pound crown.

Becker dominated his way to the finals, opening his tournament with a fall in 39 seconds over Lukas Poloncic of Augustana. In the quarterfinals, he put up a 16-5 major decision on No. 9 Zach Stodden of Nebraska-Kearney before impressing with an 18-0 technical fall in 4:22 against Brandon Supernaw from Western State, the third-ranked wrestler in the country.
With the tournament win, Becker secured his place in history, becoming the first three-time NCAA champion in Parkside history and only the second to win multiple title for the Rangers. He joins his brothers, Craig and Brad, as national champions for the program.

Becker transferred to UW-Parkside after a freshman season on the Division I level at Central Michigan. In his three years competing at DII, Becker strung together a perfect 89-0 record. This season he went 28-0. 
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 this honor please send the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments and career accolades to USA Wrestling Communications Coordinator Taylor Miller at tmiller@usawrestling.org.