ERIE, Pa. – Acrobatics and tumbling athlete
Ty Upton (South Amboy, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas) and wrestler
Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) have been named the Gannon University Student-Athletes of the Week for the week of Feb. 13. The Gannon Student-Athlete of the Week Award is sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Erie.
Upton played a key role on Saturday as the Gannon acrobatics and tumbling team opened the season with two victories in a tri-meet at Kutztown. The junior top/tumbler helped the Golden Knights finish the meet with an impressive score of 276.235 as they defeated Kutztown (250.430) and East Stroudsburg (235.160).
After missing her freshman season, Upton returned in 2023. She starred on tosses, and she helped the Knights win an NCATA event national championship in the Synchronized Toss. She was eventually named the NCATA Division II Specialist of the Year.
This year, coach
Brandy Duren said that Upton is showing her versatility by competing as a top, base, mid-level, and tumbler.
On Saturday, Upton competed in at least one heat in each of the six events: Compulsory Heats 1-4, Acro Heat 3, Pyramid Heats 2-3, Toss Heats 1-2, Tumbling Heats 1 and 6, and the Team Event. She was involved in many of Gannon's highest scores, including 9.90 and 9.80 in Compulsory, 9.70 in Pyramid, 9.85 and 9.75 in Toss, and 9.85 and 9.75 in Tumbling. She also competed in the Team Event as GU scored a strong 94.360.
"She is well on her way to being an NCATA All-American this year," Duren said of Upton.
Diaz turned in a clutch victory in the 125-pound match to help the Gannon men's wrestling start quickly in a PSAC dual against Pitt-Johnstown. In the opening bout of the dual at the Gannon Recreation and Wellness Center, Diaz made a third-period comeback to pull out a 6-5 victory over Trevon Gray, who was ranked 15th by The Open Mat.
Diaz led 3-1 after the first period, but a takedown by Gray late in the second period left Diaz trailing 5-3. The Gannon redshirt senior then converted a reversal with less than 20 seconds left to tie the score. He finished with a 1:24 riding time advantage to garner the final point.
UPJ eventually rallied to a 17-15 victory in the dual.
Diaz, who improved to 18-4, is ranked No. 10 in the NWCA poll and No. 13 in The Open Mat rankings.
2023-24 Gannon University Chick-fil-A Athlete of the Week Recipients
Week 1 (9/5/2023)
Emma Steele (Women's Cross Country)
Ely Personius (Men's Cross Country)
Week 2 (9/12/2023)
Journey Blevins (Women's Volleyball)
James Pool (Men's Soccer)
Week 3 (9/19/2023)
Marta Roicka (Women's Volleyball)
Obi Ezeigbo (Football)
Week 4 (9/26/2023)
Gabby Boden (Women's Soccer)
Donell Mason (Football)
Week 5 (10/03/2023)
Madde Blake (Women's Volleyball)
Mattia Parrini (Men's Golf)
Week 6 (10/10/2023)
Grace Emanuel (Women's Soccer)
Tinashe Katsande (Men's Soccer)
Week 7 (10/17/2023)
Ditte Petersen (Women's Golf)
Alexandros Kotskar (Men's Water Polo)
Week 8 (10/24/2023)
Cait O'Rourke (Women's Cross Country)
Stephen McCallum (Men's Swimming and Diving)
Week 9 (10/31/2023)
Emma Hall (Women's Volleyball)
Eric Scarpino (Football)
Week 10 (11/07/2023)
Lili Ujfalvi (Women's Wrestling)
Malachi Boyle (Men's Swimming)
Week 11 (11/14/2023)
Hailey Koch (Women's Volleyball)
Josh Omojafo (Men's Basketball)
Week 12 (11/21/2023)
Logan Nicklas (Women's Soccer)
Aidar Sataev (Men's Swimming ])
Week 13 (12/5/23)
Annabelle Helm (Women's Wrestling)
Matt Long (Corry, Pa./Union City) (Men's Wrestling)
Week 14 (12/12/23)
Schyler Caringi (Women's Wrestling)
Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (Men's Wrestling)
Week 15 (1/9/24)
Bri Claxon (Women's Basketball)
Lyle Tipton (Men's Basketball)
Week 16 (1/16/24)
Andrea Maibach (Women's Basketball)
Kollin Schwab (Men's Diving)
Week 17 (1/23/24)
Kealonie Vega (Women's Wrestling)
Nick Coreno (Willoughby, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (Men's Wrestling)
Week 18 (1/30/24)
Kyla Miller (Women's Diving)
Will Retsch (Men's Swimming)
Week 19 (2/06/24)
Cassandra Irwin (Game Day Cheer)
Derrick James (Men's Basketball)
Week 20 (2/13/24)
Ty Upton (South Amboy, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas) (Acrobatics and tumbling)
Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) (Men's Wrestling)
