PALATINE, Ill. – Harper College freshman wrestler Jimmy Knapp (Bourbonnais, Ill. /Bradley-Bourbonnais) has been extremely impressive on the mat in recent days. On Sunday, Knapp dominated his opponents to win the 141-pound title at Sunday's 2016 NJCAA Wrestling Midwest District Championship.
Knapp, who was also named Tournament MVP of the District Championship, can now lay claim to another award. He has been named the fourth Harper College Athlete of the Week for the 2015-16 school year and first wrestler to receive the award this year.
In the most important meet of the year to date, the Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School grad earned a semifinal win by pin over Lincoln College's Jamie Valdez. Knapp wrestled another superb match in the finals, and the result was a 17-3 major decision win over his opponent Mike Malles of Triton College. He will wrestle at the 2015-16 NJCAA Wrestling Championship beginning in a week.
Knapp's success has extended beyond just the most recent meet. He easily won his match, 20-4 over Jamie Valdez, at the Lincoln Dual just over two weeks ago. On Jan. 30, Knapp won four matches at the Harper Open and took third place at 141.
At the Illinois Underclassman State Invitational Jan. 23, he took second place with a 2-1 record. Finally, at the 34th Annual Al Hanke Wrestling Invitational at Elmhurst College in mid-January, Knapp placed fourth.
In high school, he competed at Bradley-Bourbonnais for coach Brian Smith and was an All-Conference and All-Area wrestler. Knapp is in his second semester at Harper College and is currently undecided in regard to his major.
