T.J. Wunnicke and Tyler Henken Finish Fourth at WIAC Wrestling Championships

University of Wisconsin-Platteville junior T.J. Wunnicke at 133 lbs. and freshman Tyler Henken at 141 lbs. each finished fourth to lead the Pioneer wrestling team on Sunday at the WIAC Wrestling Championships hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The Dodgeville native had his 15-match winning streak snapped in the semifinals with a 7-2 loss to Joe Mileski of UW-Stevens Point. He bounced back with a 7-2 win over Carl DeLuca of UW-Oshkosh to advance into a third-place matchup against Jake Fredricksen of UW-Whitewater.

A last-second takedown in the first period sparked Fredricksen to an 8-5 win over Wunnicke. With a 30-5 mark, Wunnicke will await the decision to see if he earns a berth at the 2012 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, March 9-10 in La Crosse.

The Pioneers also got a strong performance from Henken at 141 lbs., who dropped a decision to three-time conference champion Bebeto Yewah from UW-La Crosse. After the defeat, Henken won his first consolation round bout over Brian Reier of UW-Eau Claire, 13-3. Next, in his third-place match, he dropped a 9-0 decision to Jordan Kust of UW-Stevens Point.

Pioneers' Rob Maertz at 157 lbs., Austin Holland at 174 lbs. and Sean Yaros at 184 lbs. each won a consolation match to bring home fifth-place honors.