Strueder and Wynsma claim titles at MSOE Invite

MILWAUKEE,  Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team competed at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Invite Saturday where nine Pioneers placed, and six wrestlers finished in the top three. Sophomore Alexander Strueder (157 pounds) and freshman Nathan Wynsma (165 pounds) both won their championship bouts to secure the two first place finishes for UW-Platteville.

Strueder continued his strong season and opened with a 5-2 decision and 8-0 major decision to advance to the semifinal round. Going up against Bryce Karban, Strueder pinned the Concordia Wisconsin wrestler (Fall 2:41) to advance to the championship round at 157 pounds. Strueder defeated Steve Bonsall of Chicago with a 6-4 decision to earn a first-place finish.

Wynsma grabbed the 165 pounds title in a championship bout that advanced to sudden victory where the Pioneer defeated Maguire Pecci of Chichago 4-2. Wynsma's road to the championship round included a first-round pin (Fall 1:26) followed by a 9-4 decision in the quarterfinal and 3-2 decision in the semifinal.

Junior Chase Katzenmeyer also advanced to the championship bout, but fell by a medical forfeit to Central College's Dan Dadcliffe at 141 pounds. Katzenmeyer received a bye in the first round, pinned Joe Rongaus of Elmhurst College (Fall 2:35) and defeated Tyler Demo of UW-Eau Claire with a 7-5 decision to advance to the championship round.

Sophomore Isaac Wiegel won the third-place bout at 125 pounds with a 3-2 decision over UW-Eau Claire's Jack Marley. Wiegel's road to the third-place match included three victorious decisions while he wrestled back after falling by a 9-5 decision in his second bout of the day to Denis Murphy of UW-Oshkosh. Overall Wiegel won five-of-six bouts and outscored his opponents 39-21.

Sophomore Garrett Ruckdashel also claimed third place at 149 pounds with a 6-4 decision in the third-place match over Ramiro Vasquez of Concordia Wisconsin. Ruckdashel received a bye in the first round, won by technical fall in the quarterfinal, lost by an 8-4 decision in the semifinal, and defeated Jack Ridgway of St. Olaf with an 8-1 decision to send him to the third-place match.

Sophomore Devan VandenBush won the third-place match at 165 pounds when he pinned Collin Groleau of Central College (Fall 5:46). VandenBush tallied two falls, one major decision, and one decision on the day. The Pioneer finished the day with back to back pins having defeated UW-Oshkosh's Oscar Ramos (Fall 3:46) in the semifinal of the consolation bracket prior to the third-place bout.

Also advancing to the third-place match was junior Luke Pradel at 133 pounds. Pradel was resilient having lost the first found to AJ Schoenfuss of UW-Oshkosh by a narrow 7-6 decision, and wrestled back to the third-place bout with two major decisions, an 8-3 decision, and medical forfeit.  Pradel fell by an 11-4 decision in the third-place match to claim fourth-place.

Rounding out the Pioneers who placed at the invite were junior Cole Knier's fifth-place finish at 285 pounds and junior Nick Dado's sixth-place finish at 174 pounds.

For full invite results, click here.

The Pioneers will take a break and return to action in January when they host UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday, January 7 at 6 p.m.