Wiegel and Parker win titles, Pioneers place third at WIAC Championship
OSHKOSH, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville finished third of six teams at the 67th annual Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship (presented by @Culver’s) Saturday at the Kolf Sports Center. UW-Platteville had its highest finish since placing third at the 2017 WIAC Championship, hosted by the Pioneers in Williams Fieldhouse. The Pioneers put up 123.5 team points, the most since the 1999 championship. UW-La Crosse won its sixth straight title while UW-Eau Claire finished ahead of the Pioneers in second place.
OSHKOSH, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville finished third of six teams at the 67th annual Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship (presented by @Culver's) Saturday at the Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Platteville had its highest finish since placing third at the 2017 WIAC Championship, hosted in UW-Platteville's Williams Fieldhouse. The Pioneers put up 123.5 team points, the most since the 1999 championship. UW-La Crosse won its sixth straight title while UW-Eau Claire finished ahead of the Pioneers in second place.
"I thought we battled well today!" said head coach Trevor Kittleson. "We wrestled smart and offensive. We are putting together some of our best wrestling at the right time of the year. Very proud of the team! We are happy but not satisfied as we still have more work to do."
The Pioneers' day was highlighted by 10 wrestlers placing in the top-five and having the most finalists of any team with five. Senior Isaac Wiegel (125) and junior Brock Parker (149) claimed titles while junior Zach Licht (141), senior Nick Dado (174), and freshman Tyler Hannah (197) each finished runner-up.
Freshman Nolan McKittrick (125) joined Weigel on the podium and finished third in his first conference tournament. Junior Zach Thompson (133) also won the third-place bout while freshman Owen Norman (157), senior Jacob Sklenar (184) and sophomore Brett Schoenherr (285) finished fifth in their respected weight classes.
After a bye, Wiegel pinned both opponents in the quarterfinal (5:27) and semifinal (2:12) to advance to the championship bout where he defeated Luc Valdez of UW-Oshkosh by a 4-1 decision.
Parker outscored opponents 44-11 in the first three rounds and banked a 14-2 major decision with a technical fall (6:01, 20-5) in the quarterfinal and a 10-4 decision in the semifinal to advance to the championship mat. In a thrilling end to the day, Parker defeated Jake Burford of UW-Whitewater 3-2 to bring home the 149 title.
After a bye in the first round, Licht won by 9-1 major decision in the quarterfinal and then pinned Drew Nash of UW-Whitewater (4:41) to advance to the 141 championship bout where Zach Sato of UW-Eau Claire won by medical forfeit.
Hanna started out his first WIAC Championship with a bye and advanced to the quarterfinal where he defeated the UW-Whitewater wrestler 4-0. The semifinal would be decided by tie breaker and a 3-2 decision in favor of Hannah sent the freshman to the championship mat. Defending champion Beau Yineman of UW-Oshkosh eventually won the 197 title by 5-2 decision.
With the exception of a 7-2 loss in the semifinal to Valdez of Oshkosh, McKittrick found much success of his own in route to the third place finish at 125 pounds. McKittrick won by a 12-3 major decision in the quarterfinals, another 13-4 major decision in the consolation semifinal and pinned Jack Marley of UW-Eau Claire (1:42) in the third place match.
At 133, Thompson won his quarterfinal bout by an 8-4 decision, but dropped a narrow 3-2 decision in the semifinal to send the Pioneer to the consolation semifinal. Thompson won by fall (2:52) to advance to the third-place match and defeated Ethan Pogorzelski of UW-Whitewater by an 11-6 decision.
Coach Kittleson's Pioneers are back in action on Sunday, Feb. 20th when a group heads down to the University of Dubuque.
Team Scores
1. UW-La Crosse 145
2. UW-Eau Claire 138
3. UW-Platteville 123.5
4. UW-Oshkosh 89
5. UW-Whitewater 85.5
6. UW-Stevens Point 69
* - UW-La Crosse wins sixth straight title and 21st overall.
Championship Match Results
125: Isaac Wiegel (UWP) Defeated Luc Valdez (UWO), 4-1
133: *Matt Berlin (UWSP) Defeated Tyler Fleetwood (UWEC), 12-3
141: Zach Sato (UWEC) Won By Medical Forfeit Over Zach Licht (UWP)
149: Brock Parker (UWP) Defeated Jake Burford (UWW), 3-2
157: *Nolan Hertel (UWL) Defeated Luke Smiley (UWSP), 4-0
165: Seth Brossard (UWL) Pinned Chase Schmidt (UWEC), 4:27
174: Jared Stricker (UWL) Defeated Nick Dado (UWP), 8-1
184: Jaritt Shinhoster (UWW) Defeated Kalyn Jahn (UWL), 7-0
197: *Beau Yineman (UWO) Defeated Tyler Hannah (UWP), 5-2
285: Ben Kawcyznski (UWL) Defeated Jordan Lemcke (UWO), 6-4
- - Defending champion
