Hood earns league wrestling honor

Cornell senior Timothy Hood has been named the Iowa Conference Wrestler of the Week for the period ending Jan. 15.

Hood captured the 125-pound title at Saturday's Cornell Matman Invitational, in which he was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. The third-seeded Hood went 4-0 in a deep weight class that featured five nationally-ranked individuals.

The eighth-ranked Hood defeated two higher-ranked wrestlers, including an 8-4 finals triumph over fifth-ranked Daniel Mendoza of Luther. Hood posted a 9-5 semifinal win over seventh-ranked Jimmy Gotto of Coe.

Hood started his day with a pin in 2:37 over Lakeland's Grant Franson. He then scored a 15-0 technical fall over Carl Deluca of UW-Oshkosh.

Hood improved his season record to 20-4 with nine pins. He's won 11 consecutive matches since falling to University of Iowa's Matt McDonough on Nov. 25, 2011. Hood was named IIAC Male Athlete of the Week earlier this month after winning the Citrus Invitational title in Florida.

Hood helped lead the Rams to a runner-up finish in the 14-team Matman field. Cornell scored 117 points and placed ahead of eight nationally-ranked teams.

The sixth-ranked Rams (6-2 overall, 1-0 IIAC) take on top-ranked Wartburg (12-1, 2-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday night in Waverly.