Pioneers unable to reclaim lead from No. 3 UW-La Crosse in Headlocking Hunger battle
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team dropped a narrow 24-18 dual to nationally ranked UW-La Crosse Tuesday night in Williams Fieldhouse. The Pioneers move to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while the Eagles, ranked third in the most recent National Wrestling Coaches Association Dual Rankings, jump to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in the league.
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team dropped a narrow 24-18 dual to nationally ranked UW-La Crosse Tuesday night in Williams Fieldhouse. The Pioneers move to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while the Eagles, ranked third in the most recent National Wrestling Coaches Association Dual Rankings, jump to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in the league.
The Pioneers were first on the scoreboard and took a 3-0 lead at 125 pounds after junior Isaac Wiegel defeated Brandon Murphy by a 3-1 decision.
UW-La Crosse tied the dual at 3-3 after the 133 match, but junior Zach Licht answered back at 141 pounds and pinned Tyler Shackle to take a 9-3 lead. UW-Platteville extended that lead to 12-3 at 149 pounds after junior Brock Parker won by a 6-3 decision over Sam Lorenz.
The tides changed and the Eagles went on to pair back-to-back wins by fall with back-to-back decisions to take a 21-12 lead with two Pioneers left to wrestle.
The comfortable lead for UW-La Crosse was cut short when senior Max Schmitz won by fall (3:25) over Marcus Orlandoni at 197 pounds. Trailing by three, Brett Schoenherr battled but eventually dropped the 285 pounds match by a 5-0 decision to sixth ranked Ben Kawczynski.
Prior to the dual, the Pioneers won two of three exhibition matches. Junior Peter Driscoll won by fall (1:03) over Nick Fetzner at 165 while sophomore Ryan Hannah won by an 8-6 decision over Cole Hansen at 157 pounds.
Off the mat, the Pioneer wrestling team paved the way for all UW-Platteville teams in the annual Headlocking Hunger competition. All donations were taken to the local Platteville food pantry after the dual.
UW-Platteville will return to action on Friday, Feb. 4 when the Pioneers host UW-Oshkosh in the Throwdown in the Theatre. The event will take place at 6 p.m. on the stage in UW-Platteville's Center for the Arts, located on Main Street on the North edge of campus.
