Grant, Kulczycki Named to the AWN All-Rookie Teams

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan wrestlers A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) and Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edwards HS) have been named to the Amateur Wrestling News All-Rookie Team. Grant, a true freshman, was honored in the 125-pound weight class and redshirt freshman Kulczycki received the accolades at 149.

	Grant		Kulczycki

Grant was the only true freshman starter for the Wolverines this past season and he finished the year with an overall record of 19-23. The Clarkston native shook off a tough Big Ten Conference regular season as he placed fifth at the conference championships as an unseeded competitor to qualify for the NCAA meet. He won two matches at the NCAA Championships.

Kulczycki showed promise at the beginning of the 1999-2000 season, winning the Eastern Michigan Open (Nov. 6), but was sidelined for six weeks with a knee injury. Upon his return, Kulczycki won eight of 10 dual matches and had an overall record of 17-7. He placed third at the conference meet to qualify for the national tournament. The redshirt freshman finished the year ranked 15th at 149 pounds.

2000 AWN All-Rookie Teams

125 -- 1. Skyler Holman, North Carolina; 2. T.J. Hill, Fullerton; 3. Jose Leon, Boston; 4. Mike Akers, Virginia Tech; 5. A.J. Grant, Michigan; 6. Brandt Bruner, Lindenwood.

133 -- 1. Jesus Wilson, Upper Iowa; 2. Witt Durden, Oklahoma; 3. Scott Moore, Penn State; 4. Brian Watson, Oregon; 5. Mike Messina, Boston; 6. Brad Owens, Wisconsin.

141 -- 1. Donnie DeFillipis, George Mason; 2. Jeremy Spates, Missouri; 3. Cory Ace, Edinboro; 4. Jody Giuricich, Pennsylvania; 5. Ralph Lopez, Fresno State; 6. Roderick Ratcliff, Nebraska-Omaha.

149 -- 1. Jared Lawrence, Minnesota; 2. Justin Giovinco, Pittsburgh; 3. Billy Smith, West Virginia; 4. Mike Kulczycki, Michigan; 5. Karl Nodolsky, Michigan State; 6. Max Odom, Harvard.

157 -- 1. Luke Becker, Minnesota; 2. Gray Maynard, Michigan State; 3. Shane Roller, Oklahoma State; 4. Tony Morgan, Carson-Newman; 5. Rocky Smart, BYU; 6. Scott Garren, North Carolina State.

165 -- 1. Robbie Waller, Oklahoma; 2. Matt Anderson, Iowa; 3. Carl Fronhofer, Pittsburgh; 4. Tyler Bryant, South Dakota State; 5. Nick Nemeth, Kent; 6. Mike Pierce, Portland State.

174 -- 1.Mauricio Wright, San Francisco State; 2. Zach Stalder, Nebraska-Omaha; 3. Brad Christie, Montclair State; 4. Mark Becks, Penn State; 5. Bill Kopecky, North Carolina-Greensboro; 6. Steve Mazzola, Virginia.

184 -- 1.Jessman Smith, Iowa; 2. Scott Justus, Virginia Tech; 3. Ty Mathews, Indiana; 4. Mahammed Lawal, Central Oklahoma; 5. Travis Kraft, Eastern Michigan; 6. Nick Richmond, North Carolina.

197 -- 1.Josh Lembrecht, Tennessee-Chattanooga; 2. Joe Downey, Buffalo; 3. Chad Wallace, Nebraska-Omaha; 4. Matt Greenberg, Columbia; 5. Matt Huebner, Northwestern; 6. Kevin Hoy, Air Force.

Hwt -- 1.Jon Madsen, South Dakota State; 2. Russ Davie, Cleveland State; 3. John Testa, Clarion; 4. Paul Hynek, Northern Iowa; 5. Willie McCowan, Central Missouri State; 6. Dustin Darveaux, St. Cloud

Contact: Jason Binge (734) 763-4423

University of Michigan Athletics

Players Mentioned

A.J. Grant

Mike Kulczycki

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