CLEVELAND, Ohio - Redshirt senior Evan Cheek of the Cleveland State University wrestling team saw his collegiate career officially come to a close earlier this week when the NCAA Division I Council declined to extend eligibility for those that compete in winter sports.
Cheek, in his fifth year at CSU, had qualified for the NCAA Championships but was unable to compete at the event for the final time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cheek had been slated as the No. 16 seed at 141 pounds in the 33-man field for NCAA's. He finished 14th in the final RPI produced by the NCAA, which was the top spot held by a MAC wrestler and the second-highest of any athlete that did not hail from a Power Five school.
Cheek had earned his second national tournament berth by virtue of his performance at the Mid-American Conference Championships. He won a trio of matches on the opening day of the event, two against top-26 opponents, to lock up a spot to NCAA's. He ended up finishing as the runner-up at the event, well inside the MAC's allotment of five automatic berths at the weight.
"Evan Cheek brought a ton of excitement and attention to the Cleveland State wrestling program over the last five years," head coach Josh Moore said. "He will leave as one of the most decorated wrestlers in the past decade at CSU."
Cheek went 36-5 overall in his final season as a collegian, including a 12-1 mark in duals. He posted eight pins and 18 total bonus-point victories. He won titles at the Clarion Open, Ohio Intercollegiate Open and Cleveland State Open, turning in a dominant performance in the latter event to becoming the first Viking to a win a title at CSU's home event since 2011. He also placed at the prestigious Southern Scuffle for the second time in his career.
Prior to redshirting during the 2018-19 campaign, Cheek had earned an automatic berth to 2018 NCAA Championships in Cleveland. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Eastern Wrestling League Championships, after winning the 141-pound EWL title, becoming just the third Viking ever to win that honor and the first in 35 years. Cheek, who was seeded third entering the EWL Championships, pinned an undefeated, top-five national opponent in the championship bout, the second time in the tournament he pinned an NCAA qualifier.
"We are proud of Evan's athletic accomplishments, but even prouder of the person he has developed into during his time at Cleveland State," Moore said.
Cheek won 24 matches in the 2017-18 season, claiming 16 bonus-point wins and a team-leading eight pins. He had placed third at both the 2016 and 2017 EWL Championships, combining for 40 wins in those two seasons, including 17 bonus-point victories as a sophomore.
While Cheek's individual accomplishments are certainly worthy of acclaim, his impact on helping turn around the fortunes of the Viking program may turn out to be his most important achievement.
"It was amazing to see how far this team has come, going from being almost last in the EWL at the beginning of my career to being in the top half of the MAC," Cheek recently said to The Cauldron. "Seeing seven kids place in a tougher conference compared to last year when we had one placer. Outside of the impacts from coronavirus, this season was amazing, and I just want to thank Cleveland State for all the opportunities they presented me with."
As Cheek noted, seven Vikings placed at the 2020 MAC Championships, five of whom outpaced their seed. As a result, Cleveland State finished in the top half of the team standings at the event after being tabbed to finish dead last in the final pre-championship coaches' rankings.
A native of Milan, Ohio, Cheek is a criminology major and plans to join a law enforcement agency after graduation. He also intends to coach wrestling at the high school or collegiate level.
