INSIDE WRESTLING
BY ANNA POULTER-HENDRICKSON
All-America honors
highlight season finale
UW finishes season at NCAA championships
A
season full of improvement was capped off at
the NCAA championships
with Tyler Graff���s third AllAmerica honor.
Graff became the ninth
three-time All-American in
program history and, for
head coach Barry Davis,
Graff���s honor was representative of the junior���s commitment to the team and his
own personal improvement.
���He���s a great kid and he
has a great work ethic,��� said
Davis of Graff. ���He represents himself well, represents the university well and
represents his team well,
and that will lead him to big48 �� VARSITY
MAR CH 28, 2013
ger and better things.���
Graff���s third-place finish at 133 lbs. capped off a
successful campaign for the
Badgers. The team overcame
the adversity of the previous
season to post a 4-4 record in
the Big Ten, including wins
over No. 9 Nebraska and No.
11 Michigan.
The Badgers worked their
way back into the national
rankings, spending nineconsecutive weeks ranked,
and finished the season
with three individual ranked
wrestlers, including No. 3
Graff, No. 18 Jackson Hein
(197) and No. 10 Connor
Medbery (Hwt.).
@Badger_Wrestle
Medbery earned the ultimate nod
from wrestling���s toughest conference,
as he was named Big Ten Freshman
of the Year following his fourth-place
performance at the leauge championships.
Davis knew the Badgers��� performance this year would be an improvement over the previous season
and is hopeful for what the next year
will bring.
���I knew we���d be better (this year),���
said Davis. ���(We) probably had four
guys redshirt that could start for us
and really help us out during the season.���
As if the return of three-time AllAmerican Graff at 133 lbs., Medbery
at heavyweight, Hein at 197 lbs. and
the addition of Jesse Thielke to the
lineup doesn���t get fans excited for
next year, UW will celebrate 100
years of wrestling, culminating with
the Big Ten championships at the
Kohl Center. It���s already making
2013-14 a season to remember.
