Medbery Match-By-Match
Of note: Ranked second in the country at heavyweight by Intermat, FLOWrestling, The Open Mat, WIN Magazine and TrackWrestling
Awards and honors: 2015 All-American ... 2014 Academic All-Big Ten ... 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
2016-17:Â Connor Medbery was ranked second in the country by every media outlet in the nation all season long. A 2015 All-American, Medbery came back from his redshirt Olympic season with a bang.
Medbery finished the season with a stellar 29-2 record with 10 wins over ranked opponents. He had three major decisions, 12 technical falls and two pins on the season. He led the country in tech falls over division one opponents.
He held a flawless 4-0 record in the NCAA championships with three wins over seeded/ranked opponents until the finals where he fell to Olympic Gold medalist Kyle Snyder of Ohio State. Medbery won his opening match in the championships with Princeton’s Ray O’Donnell with a 14-1 major decision. He went on to knock off Pittsburgh’s Ryan Solomon with a 5-0 blanking. Medbery then trumped No. 7 seed Tanner Hall (Arizona State) with a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals. He capped off his tear through the bracket by taking down No. 3 Ty Walz of Virginia Tech with a 4-3 decision. It was Medbery’s third win over Walz this season, including his victory in the All-Star Classic, and his sixth career win over him.
Medbery earned his second All-America honor at the 2017 NCAA championships becoming the 10th heavyweight All-American in Wisconsin wrestling history. He is the fifth heavyweight finalist in program history.
Medbery claimed back-to-back Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week honors two weeks in a row, making him the first Badger to claim the award in back-to-back weeks. He conquered three top-five opponents within the span of a week to make it just the second time in program history that UW had back-to-back weekly honors. He was awarded the prestigious Hammer Award at the Journeymen Classic for his dominant performance at the tournament.
He had a perfect 22-0 regular season record, 11-0 dual record and 9-0 Big Ten record. Medbery held opponents to the fewest takedowns of anyone on the team (7) and had the most two nearfall (15) and four nearfall (16) points on the team.
2015-16: Olympic Redshirt season ... served as a training partner for the U.S. Olympics team at the 2016 Rio Olympics
2014-15: Wisconsin's starter at heavyweight ... 2015 All-American ... 4-2 record at the NCAA Championships ... finshed in fourth place ... 2-1 record at the Big Ten Championships to finish fourth ... finished the season with a 13-0 dual record ... 9-0 against Big Ten opponents in the regular season ... 32-3 overall record ... started the season ranked No. 6 and was No. 2 when the season closed ... earned a No. 1 ranking going iNTo the Big Ten Championships ... marked six wins by tech fall ... biggest upset was 7-6 victory over Northwestern's No. 2 Mike McMullan while Medbery was ranked No. 5 ... third place finish at Midlands ... took first place at the Navy Classic ... remained undefeated the entire tournament with an overall record 5-0
2013-14: Wisconsin's starter at heavyweight ... 2-2 record at the NCAA Championships ... finished seventh at the Big Ten Championships with a 3-2 record ... ranked in top-10 entire regular season, appearing as high as six ... finished season with an overall record of 26-10, including a 14-4 mark in dual competition and a 4-4 record in the Big Ten ... began the season 15-0 ... closed regular season with upset win over 3rd-ranked Bobby Telford of Iowa... won the Navy Classic with a record of 5-0 ... 2-2 record at Midlands
2012-13: Wisconsin's starter at heavyweight ... 2013 Big Ten Wrestling Freshman of the Year ... finished fourth and qualified for his first NCAA championships at the Big Ten championships ... only freshman heavyweight ranked in the top-20 for most of the season ... ranked all season ... finished as the No. 10-ranked heavyweight ... 25-8 overall record on the year ... 13-1 record in dual meets ... 9-3 record against Big Ten competition ... began the season 11-0 in dual meets ... finished fifth at the Cliff Keen Invite with a 3-2 record ... finished third at Midlands with a 6-1 record ... 2-0 record at NWCA National Duals ... had a 2-2 record at the Big Ten championships ... 1-2 record at NCAA championships ... Academic All-Big Ten honoree ... named the team's Most Improved wrestler ... competed in Guatemala at the 2012 Junior Pan Am.
2011-12: Had a 13-2 record in open tournaments at heavyweight ... won the Stevens Point open at heavyweight with a 4-0 record ... took seventh place at the 2011 Midlands Championships at heavyweight with a 3-2 record High School: Placed third in state with a 36-2 record his freshman year ... state champion, 2008 Fargo Freestyle champion and had a 42-0 record his sophomore year ... state champion with a 40-0 record his junior year ... state champion, 2011 Fargo Freestyle champion and had a 43-0 record his senior year
High School: Placed third in state with a 36-2 record his freshman year ... state champion, 2008 Fargo Freestyle champion and had a 42-0 record his sophomore year ... state champion with a 40-0 record his junior year ... state champion, 2011 Fargo Freestyle champion and had a 43-0 record his senior year
Personal: Parents are Jim and Alison Medbery ... has two sisters, Brittany (28) and Morgan (25) ... Eagle Scout ... Dad, Jim, wrestled at Colorado State ... Uncles Mike and Mark both played football at Idaho State.
What does it mean to be a Badger? "Being proud to wear the W and to compete at the highest possible level in every aspect of life."
Off the Mat with Connor:
My favorite thing about Wisconsin wrestling: How close the team is and how everyone works hard for the same goals
Most memorable match: Iowa last year
Before each match I: Pray
Favorite Barry Davis quote: "Etc."
First started wrestling: 5-years-old
