John Fuller/TheMat.com
Note: To nominate a wrestler for TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week, send the athlete’s name, accomplishments for the week and career accomplishments to John Fuller at [email protected]
Justin Ruiz (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) has been named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for the week of May 17-23.
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.
Ruiz won a gold medal at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. at the O.Karavaev Memorial International in Minsk, Belarus over the weekend.
In the first round, Ruiz defeated 2004 World University champion Denis Shakaya of Russia, 0-3, 3-0, 1-0. After a quarterfinal win over Yuriy Matushek of the Czech Republic, 3-0, 2-0, Ruiz defeated 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Viacheslav Makarenko of Belarus, 3-0, 3-0, in the semifinals.
In the gold medal match, Ruiz downed Valdas Sidlauskas of Lithuania, who placed fourth in the 2004 European Championships. Ruiz won the match in two periods, 3-0, 1-0.
Ruiz recently won his second consecutive U.S. Nationals title in Greco-Roman. He is a resident-athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
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