LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- It was quite the day for New Mexico Highlands'
Allen Michel on the opening day of the 2022 NCAA Division II Wrestling championships on Friday.
He was honored prior to wrestling as the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2022 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship. He's the first student-athlete from a college in New Mexico to ever receive the award.
Michel, majoring in English and Political Science and carrying a 4.0 GPA, then bounced back from an opening match loss in the 174-pound weight class to Brock Biddle of Pitt-Johnstown via tech fall to bounce back to win three consecutive matches to secure All-American status and advance to the second day.
Michel recovered from the opening loss to defeat the No. 2 seed Cade Mueller via via pin in the third period, Josh Jones of McKendree 19-10 and No. 8-seed Job Ayala of UW-Parkside, 8-6.
Michel is now 21-9 on the season and faces No. 5 Ty McGeary of West Liberty on Saturday and is still alive to take third - but will take no worse than eighth with the top eight earning All-American status.
The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above academically who have participated in a sport for at least two years with their school. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.
For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, log on to
https://www.ncaa.com/elite-90.
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