Griffin Named BIG 12 Wrestler of the Week after Top 10 Victory
12/18/2024 11:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RIVERSIDE--- For the third time in his career, Elijah Griffin of California Baptist wrestling has been named the BIG 12 Wrestler of the Week.
Griffin has been a standout wrestler for the Lancers in the BIG 12 era and now adds another accolade to his increasingly growing college resume. A 2-0 week highlighted by a top-10 upset against West Virginia earned Griffin the prestigious honor in one of the top wrestling conferences in the country.
Griffin began the week with a dominating showing against Clarion University as he bested Gianni Silvestri of the Golden Eagles 13-1 in a major decision victory. Griffin was one of a handful of Lancers to earn bonus points in the dual and helped CBU score the most team points in a dual against a DI opponent since they made the jump to the BIG 12 in 2022. Griffin had three takedowns in the bout and also earned three swipes to result in the major decision.
CBU's Sunday match against #18/13 West Virginia is where Griffin truly earned his Wrestler of the Week distinction as he was pitted against a two-time National Qualifier in #10 Jordan Titus. Griffin built up over a minute of riding time in the second period as the two wrestlers went scoreless through two periods. In the third period, Griffin fended off an unorthodox attack from Titus and dropped the ranked wrestler for the takedown. The takedown occurred in the final seconds of the third period and, along with a riding time point, secured Griffin's 5-0 victory. For Eli, it was his second win against a top-10 opponent and helped the Lancers pull off the upset over the ranked Mountaineers.
The win for Griffin also helped him jump in the national rankings after coming into the week #33 in InterMat's rankings and ranked #32 on FloWrestling. Following the upset, Griffin made the jump to #27 on FloWrestling and #30 in the InterMat Rankings at 141lbs.
Griffin and the Lancers will be back in action on Thursday, December 19, as they make the trip to San Luis Obispo, California, to take on the Cal Poly Mustangs at 5 PM PT.
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