Sammy Sasso selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week

Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, Pa./Ohio State) has been selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on Jan. 28, 2020.

Entering the weekend ranked No. 6 at 149 pounds, Sasso, a redshirt freshman at Ohio State, went 2-0, notching a pair of top-five wins on the road.

To open the weekend, Sasso took out top-ranked Pat Lugo in the dual against Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Regulation ended in a 1-1 tie and it came down to the ride-out periods. Sasso was quick to get out, and the Buckeye held on for the 2-1 win, riding out Lugo in the next 30-second ride-out period to give the Hawkeye his first loss of the season.

Two days later, Sasso battled No. 4 Brayton Lee of Minnesota. The two wrestlers entered the final frame knotted 2-2. With less than 30 seconds left, Sasso capitalized on a shot from Lee for a takedown and an eventual 4-2 win.

After his performance, Sasso chimes in at No. 2 at 149 pounds in this week’s FloWrestling’s rankings.

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. Twitter fan votes also play a part in decision.

To nominate a wrestler for this honor please send the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments and career accolades to USA Wrestling Manager of Communications Taylor Miller at tmiller@usawrestling.org.