Competing at the Cornell College (Iowa) Matman Invitational on Jan. 19, Behnke won the 141-pound weight class, which featured 23 wrestlers. Behnke went 5-0 on his way to winning the title to improve to 24-5 on the season. He started the day with a pin in 2:25 and followed with a 10-3 victory to advance to the quarterfinals. He then got to the semifinals after winning with an 8-0 major decision and advanced to the championship match with an 11-1 major decision victory. In the championship match, Behnke defeated Beau Westpfahl of Coe College (Iowa) 2-0.
Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Billy Mayer, Senior, 285 pounds, Eden, Wis. (Campbellsport)
UW-Oshkosh, Nazar Kulchytskyy, Junior, 165 pounds, Sosnivka, Ukraine (Prairie du Chien, Wis.)
UW-Platteville, Cole Ferguson, Freshman, 125 pounds, New Lenox, Ill. (Providence Catholic)
UW-Whitewater, Tyler Becker, Junior, 165 pounds, Fox Lake, Ill. (Grant)