Goetz's title paces Pioneers at regionals

Jon Goetz won the 174-pound championship and led the UW-Platteville wrestling team to fourth place among 11 teams at the NCAA Division III West Regional Saturday at Concordia-Moorhead (Minnesota).

Goetz is one of four Pioneer sophomores to qualify for the NCAA III nationals, scheduled for March 10-11 at the La Crosse Center. Scott Arneson, at 133, and Grant Wedepohl, at 184, were runners-up, and Trevor Harsh was third at 149 to clinch trips to the national championships.

"We are proud and excited about the opportunity to have these four wrestlers representing UW-Platteville at the national tournament," Coach Mike DeRoehn said. "We hope to have a nice crowd in La Crosse to cheer them on as they seek All-American honors". 

With three victories, Goetz took the 174 title. He won by a technical fall over Glenn Castro of St. John's, took a 10-3 decision over Augsburg's Austin Boniface in the semifinals, then beat Concordia (Wisconsin)'s Mason Mergener 4-2 in the championship match. Goetz will carry a 28-5 record into nationals.

Arneson and Wedepohl both advanced to the championships matches in their respective weights. Arneson scored a pin and a technical fall to make it to last match, where he was stopped by Augsburg's Sam Bennyhoff. Wedepohl also won his first mach via pinball, then beat UW-Oshkosh's Julius Smith 5-0 before losing to Augsburg's Owen Webster.

Harsh had to battle back through the consolation round after losing his first match at 149. He won four straight, including a 4-2 win over Concordia (Wisconsin)'s Miguel Betancourt in the third-place match to clinch the national qualifier status.

The top three wrestlers in each weight advanced to nationals. The top six earned all-regional honors. Also claiming all-regional honors for UW-Platteville were Zachary Stenger, fourth at 125, Isaac Brosinksi, sixth at 165, and D'Andre Johnson, sixth at 285.

UW-Platteville national gear may be purchased at: http://www.pioneerlocker.com/wisconsin-platteville_pioneers__wrestling_nationals

Team Scores

1.  Augsburg College  159.0
2.  Concordia College­Moorhead  123.5
3.  St. Johns University (Minnesota)  90.0
4.  University Of Wisconsin­Platteville  86.0
5.  University Of Wisconsin­Eau Claire  79.0
6.  University Of Wisconsin­Oshkosh  66.5
7.  Concordia University Wisconsin  66.0
8.  Milwaukee School Of Engineering  44.5
9.  St. Olaf College  19.5
10. Lakeland College  14.5
11.  University Of The Pacific  7.5

Written by Paul Erickson, Director, UW-Platteville Communications, 608.342.1194, pr@uwplatt.edu