Three Pioneer wrestlers head to nationals

Platteville, Wis.- Three University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestlers will head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the 2022 NCAA Division III National Championships on Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12. Senior Isaac Wiegel, junior Zach Thompson and freshman Tyler Hannah qualified for the national meet at the Upper Midwest Regional in February.

Wiegel, a Belmont, Wisconsin native, will enter nationals with a 22-6 record after finishing third at the Upper Midwest Regionals. The Upper Midwest Regional top seed was upset in the semi-finals and had to wrestle back to qualify.  

Wiegel defeated Luc Valdez from UW-Oshkosh 3-2 and secured his spot at nationals with a pin of Brandon Murphy of UW-La Crosse in the third-place match. Wiegel opens the national vs. Luis Hernandez of Ithaca College.

Hannah, a Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin native, pulled off the upset of the Upper Midwest Regional in the semi-finals when he took down top ranked Beau Yineman from UW-Oshkosh 3-1 in sudden victory overtime. Yineman defeated Hannah at the WIAC Championships in February, where Hannah finished runner-up. 

Hannah would win the Upper Midwest title over Bentley Schwanebeck of Augsburg College by medical forfeit at the five-minute mark. Hannah will enter nationals with a 23-10 record. Hannah will face the winner of the Travis Arata vs. Dylan Wellbaum match. Arata is from Roger Williams University, while Wellbaum is from Adrian College. 

Thompson, a Perry, Iowa native, will enter the national meet in his home state of Iowa with a 15-7 record after finishing third at the Upper Midwest Regional. Thompson needed to wrestle back after dropping a tough semi-final match to conference foe Matt Berlin of UW-Stevens Point 4-3. 

Thompson would win his final two matches at the Upper Midwest Regional by defeating another conference foe, Sawyer Sarbacker of UW-La Crosse 3-2 and Ty Bisek of Concordia College 6-3. He will open the nationals in his home state of Iowa vs. Luis Hernandez of Ithaca College.

The national meet will be held at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids. The top eight wrestlers from Friday's session will move on to Saturday. The top eight finishers in each weight class will earn All-American status. Championship matches will be held Saturday night. To follow the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, visit this website.