Pioneer Wrestling goes 1-2 at Knox College Duals

GALESBURG, Ill. -- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team fell to Simpson College, 20-18, and North Central College, 24-10, before beating Knox College, 39-12, at the Knox College Duals on Saturday. 

The Pioneers received a forfeit at 125 pounds against Simpson and then used a 6-4 victory by Chase Wiggins tied the match up at 9-9. SC won the next two matches by a major decision and a 7-3 decision to take a 16-9 lead. Trenton Larson defeated Brett Roberts, 6-5, to cut the Pioneers' deficit to 16-12. Simpson earned another major decision this time at 184 pounds to extend its lead 20-12. The Pioneers' Josh Cannon and Brandon Boyle recorded one-point victories at their respective weight classes to cap off the dual, but it wasn't enough to overcome the eight-point deficit. 

Cole Ferguson kicked off the Pioneers' dual against North Central at 125 pounds with a 16-5 major decision, beating Mike Bikulcius. The Cardinals went on to win the next five matches to take a commanding 18-4 lead. Cody Meyer stopped NC's winning streak with a tough fought 4-2 decision over Matt Marcotte at 174 points to make it 18-7. North Central won at 184 pounds to push its lead to 21-7. Josh Cannon gave the Pioneers their third and final victory at 197 pounds to cut NC's lead to 21-10.

Ferguson started the dual versus Knox by pinning Cooper Collings at the 4:12 mark. A pair of forfeits at 133 pounds and 141 pounds gave the Pioneers an assertive 18-0 lead. Chase Wiggins gutted out a 7-5 win over Austin Ventris at 149 pounds to give UW-Platteville a 21-0 advantage. Knox took the next three matches to cut its deficit to 21-12, but a pin by Larson at 184 pounds gave the Pioneers a 27-12 lead. UW-Platteville received a pair of forfeits at 197 pounds and 285 pounds to close out the 39-12 win. 

UW-Platteville travels to Crawfordsville, Ind. on Saturday, Jan. 17 for the Max Servies Duals, hosted by Wabash College.