Pioneer wrestling ready for postseason

Platteville, Wis.-The No. 23 nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team finished up the regular season with a thrilling victory in the annual "Throwdown in the Theatre" match against UW Oshkosh on Feb. 7.  The Pioneers won six straight matches to put the Titans away 28-9.

Junior Chase Katzenmeyer and freshman Nathan Wynsma won by pin fall.  Katzenmeyer made quick work of his opponent with a pin at the 1:23 mark.  Wynsma needed 3:45 to get his pin.  Junior Nick Dado picked up a 16-4 major decision to close out the match for the Pioneers.  Junior Lucius Rinehart, sophomore Garrett Ruckdashel, sophomore Alexander Strueder and junior Luke Pradel won matches for the Pioneers.  To see video highlights and interviews from Katzenmeyer, Wynsma and head coach Mike DeRoehn click this link.

DeRoehn and the Pioneer wrestling team will head to UW-La Crosse for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament on Friday, Feb. 14, beginning at noon.  "It's the WIAC, every team is so tough," DeRoehn said.  "I am expecting a tough fight; we embrace the chop wood, carry water mindset and trust the process. We will continue to work hard, together and smart to prepare." 

Quentin Shields tops 1,000 points for career as Pioneers win pair of WIAC games

At the 3:15 mark of the second half, junior Quentin Shields became the Pioneer's 35th member of the career 1,000-point club in the victory over UW-Stout 84-72.  To hear from Shields on achieving the milestone, click this link.

Junior Justin Stovall and sophomore Kyle Tuma celebrated birthdays by scoring career-highs to pace five Pioneers in double figures.  Stovall led the Pioneers with 22 points and Tuma scored 18.  Carter Voelker (15), Shields (13) and Blake McCann (10) joined Stovall and Tuma with double figures.

Stovall and Tuma pulled down eight boards, Stovall grabbed three on the offensive end of the floor to lead the Pioneers.  Voelker led the Pioneers with four assist and two steals.

On Feb. 5, the Pioneers showcased the depth of the team as they defeated UW-La Crosse 83-75.  Junior Justin Fox matched his career-high and scored a season-high 11 points off the bench.  Shields led the Pioneers with 23 points, going 6-7 from behind the three-point line.  Stovall scored 17 and led the team in rebounding with 9.  Junior Drew Gunnink chipped in 12 points. McCann had a team-high 5 assists.  For post-game interviews and highlights click this link.

The Pioneers are currently ranked #8 in the latest d3hoops.com national poll with a 18-3 record and sit atop the WIAC standings with an 8-2 conference record.  The Pioneers were recently named team of the week by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Jeff Gard is in his 11th season at UW-Platteville with a career record of 175-114.  With the two victories Gard moves up to 21st place on the WIAC all-time wins list.

Shields leads the Pioneers in scoring with 15.4 points per a contest, good for eighth in the WIAC.  Voelker is 10th in the WIAC in scoring, averaging 14.9.  Stovall is the Pioneers' leading rebounder at 6.8 boards a game, good for fourth in the conference.  Voelker is fifth in the conference with 6.3 boards a game.  Shields is second in the WIAC in free-throw percentage, shooting .860 (74-86) from the charity stripe.

The Pioneers will travel to UW-Whitewater on Feb. 12 for a 7 p.m. contest before welcoming UW-River Falls to Bo Ryan Court for Senior Night on Feb. 15.  The Pioneers will honor Tanner Hudziak, Tim Bassuener and Voelker before the 7 p.m. tip.

The Pioneers defeated the Warhawks 77-56 in the first meeting, Jan. 22.  Voelker led the Pioneers with 18 points while Stovall pulled down a team-high 13 boards. 

The Warhawks (7-14, 2-8) are coached by Pat Miller.  Miller is in his 19th season with a career record of 393-137.  Equan Ards leads the Warhawks and second in the WIAC in scoring with 20.8 points per a game.

The Pioneers fall at UW-River Falls 74-68 on Jan. 25.  Stovall recorded his first career double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort.

The Falcons (12-9, 5-5) are coached by Jeff Berhof, who is in his 14th season with a career record of 190-174.  Julian Jackson leads the Falcons in scoring with 15.7 points a game.

Pioneers drop pair of games

The Pioneer women's basketball team dropped a pair of WIAC games this past week.  The Pioneers were defeated by UW-La Crosse 76-50 on Feb. 5.  Junior Maiah Domask led the Pioneers with 12 points.  Sophomore Taylor Gilbert pulled down a career-high seven rebounds.

The Pioneers dropped a tough overtime game to UW-Stout 76-70 on Feb. 8.  Freshman Kaylee Meyers scored a career-high 18 points, while Domask picked up her league-leading 10th double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 13 boards, eight of the boards were on the offensive end.

Kelly McNiff is in her first season as head coach of the Pioneers.  Domask leads the WIAC in rebounding with 9.0 boards a game and is third in scoring with 15.3 points per contest.   Senior Morgan Horstman is forth in the WIAC in scoring with 15.3 points per a game.  Senior Rachel Emendorfer leads the WIAC in steals with 2.19 thefts a contest, and is forth in assists with 2.62 a game.

The Pioneers welcome UW-Whitewater (19-2, 9-1) to Bo Ryan Court for a 7 p.m. contest, the Warhawks defeated the Pioneers on Jan. 22.  Horstman led the Pioneers with 19 points and Domask had a double-double.

Keri Carollo is in her 18th year as head coach of the Warhwaks with a career record of 351-150.   Becky Raeder leads the Warhawks in scoring with 12.9 points a game.

The Pioneers will travel to UW-River Falls for a 3 p.m. contest on Feb. 15.  The Pioneers defeated the Falcons on Jan. 25, 63-51.  Horstman led the Pioneers with 17 points and Domask recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards 

Blake DuDonis is in his first season as head coach of the Falcons.  Brianna Koop leads the Falcons in scoring, averaging 11.8 points a game.

Pioneer men's Track and Field take first at Red Hawk Invitational

The Pioneer track and field programs traveled to Ripon, Wisconsin to participate in the Red Hawk Invitational.  The men's program won the invitational with a score of 214.6 while the women's program finished third with a score of 102.

The Pioneer men dominated the shot put, taking home the top four spots, and six of the top eight overall.  Senior Cole Eastlick won the event with a throw of 14.70 meters (48-2.75).  Tyler Bacon, Justin Eichler and Alexander Walechka finished second through fourth.

The women's 4 x 400 ran a season best of 4:10.06 to win the event, the 4 x 400 members are sophomore Jessica Buss, junior Haley Ott, senior Johanna Meister, and junior Katie Schilling.

Senior Noah Steiner continues to dominate in the high jump, placing first for a third straight meet, jumping 2.01 (6-7).  Sophomore Bryce Bierman finished second in the high jump.  Senior Alex Wright won the pole vault completion with a personal best of 4.24m (13-11).  Sophomore Damani White won the triple-jump with a jump of 13.34 (43-9.25). 

Chris Rotzenberg is in his eighth season as head coach of the Pioneer track and field programs.  The Pioneers will welcome six teams to the UW-Platteville Invitational on Feb. 15.  The members of the track and field programs will be decorating cookies to help fund raise money for the upcoming Polar Plunge.  Pioneer student-athletes will participate in the Polar Plunge in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on Feb. 22.  All money raised from the Polar Plunge will be donated to Special Olympics.  To make a donation to the Pioneer Plunge team, please visit this link and use UW Platteville Athletics for team name.