Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn./Nittany Lion WC) has been selected as TheMat.com Athlete of the Week on August 15, 2017.

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Two weeks ago, Hall launched the U.S. into the Junior World Championships held in Tampere, Finland, by clinching his second-consecutive title at the event. He became the sixth American to earn two Junior World championships, joining Spencer Lee (2016-17) and Tim Timok (1979-80) as the only to do so in men’s freestyle.

The American prodigy began his 74 kg/163 lbs. conquest with a 10-0 win over Ukraine’s Adlan Bataiev and a 6-2 decision over highly-credentialed Russian Radik Valiev to qualify for the quarterfinals. Hall then made quick work of Junior Asian champion and eventual bronze medalist Mohammad Mottaghinia of Iran, 10-0. In the semifinals, he downed Junior European bronze medalist Muhammet Kucukyildirim of Turkey, 10-3.

Much like his gold-medal match from last year, Hall ended things in quick, emphatic fashion. Standing opposite Junior Asian runner-up Isa Shapiev of Uzbekistan, Hall struck with a cement mixer to get the win by pin in just 43 seconds. Continue reading at www.teamusa.org