Pioneers fall to Titans in season opener

Photo by: Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh

OSHKOSH, Wis. – After a 339-day hiatus from competition, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team opened the condenced 2020-21 season and conference schedule at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the Kolf Sports Center. UW-Platteville ultimately fell 23-15 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) dual, but there were a number of victories for the program.

It was nearly a year ago since the Pioneers last competed while at the 2020 NCAA Regional on February 29. Tuesday night's dual was an opportunity for both teams to wrestle against more than just teammates.

"I'm proud of the team for putting their foot on the line!" said head coach Mike DeRoehn. "We had some strong performances and some room for growth both in victory and defeat. Win or lose, we will seek to learn and improve."

The Pioneers were dealt an uphill battle from the start as the Titans took an early 6-0 lead with a forfeit at 125 pounds. Fortunately for UW-Platteville, the grit and mental toughness training which accompanied the Pioneers' through the fall season and early 2021 was apparent in the middle stretch of the dual.

Junior Isaac Wiegel was first out for the Pioneers and picked up his first win of the season with a 6-5 victory over AJ Schoenfuss at 133 pounds. Next, senior Luke Pradel notched another Pioneer victory with an 8-1 decision over Cade Schmitz at 141 pounds and evened the team score to 6-6 going into the 149 bout.

The Titans put a pause on the Pioneers' momentum as Wesam Alabed won by technical fall, 4:32 over junior Garrett Ruckdashel to give UW-Oshkosh the 11-6 lead after four classes.

A trio of Pioneers then went to claim three straight decisions to take a 15-11 lead over the home team. Junior Gannon Hughes won his first competition of the year at 157 pounds with a 14-11 decision over Nate Stokhaug. Sophomore Nathan Wynsma followed with a 3-1 decision at 165 and senior Nick Dado secured the third consecutive victory with a 10-7 decision over Josh Te Stroete at 174 pounds.

With just three bouts remaining in the dual, junior Jacob Sklenar lost in a narrow 10-9 decision in favor of Husam Alabed to draw the Pioneers' lead to one, 15-14. Unfortunately for UW-Platteville, a technical fall, 6:11 at 197 pounds and a 10-0 major decision in the heavy weight secured the 23-15 Titan victory.

Outside of the dual, the Pioneers saw a number of positives while nine additional match-ups took place to offer opportunities for both programs to have additional student-athletes compete. The Pioneers won six of the nine additional pairings, including three pins.

Junior Caleb Radtke won his first event of the season via fall at 4:06 over Matt Joyce at 133 pounds. Junior Devan VandenBush narrowly defeated Muzi Sitshela by a 7-6 decision at 157 pounds. Junior Alexander Strueder returned to the mat and shutout PJ Ladd 7-0 at 165 pounds. Sophomore Coy Ruess pinned Mike Volkmar (6:02) at 165 pounds and junior Max Schmitz won via pin over Ryan Wahrman (1:35) wrestling at heavy weight.  Freshman Luke Leranth defeated Guyon Cyprian also at 285 pounds with a narrow 3-2 decision to secure his first collegiate victory in the orange and blue.

The Pioneers are scheduled to return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 9 when they hit the road for UW-Stevens Point at 6 p.m.