Pioneers finish 3-1 at Olivet Duals

OLIVET, Mich. – The No. 18 nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team competed Saturday in four individual duals, including three against other Top 25 teams at the Olivet Duals. UW-Platteville outscored their opponents 95-65 on the day including seven pin falls, two technical falls and four major decisions. 

The Pioneers started with a dominate 40-6 victory against Adrian College followed by a 22-15 victory against No. 11 Olivet and a 27-16 win over No. 6 John Carroll. UW-Platteville fell 28-6 to No. 20 Ohio Northern in the final dual of the day. 

The day also featured the return of junior Nathan Wynsma to the mat after nearly a year break due to injury. Wynsma wrestled at 174 pounds and went 3-0, pinning two opponents and defeating the No. 12 nationally ranked Owen Guilford by a 17-2 tech. fall. The final pin of the day was over the No. 6 nationally ranked Daniel Devera of John Carroll.  

No. 8 ranked Tyler Hannah finished the day 4-0 wrestling at 184 pounds and No. 14 ranked Brett Schoenherr finished 3-1 at 285 pounds with the only loss of the day for the Pioneer landing by a 5-4 decision.

In the first dual of the day the Pioneers jumped out to a 32-3 lead after freshman Trace Gephart opened up the day with a 13-0 major decision. Sophomore Jack Sullivan pinned Tyler Davis (6:24) in the 133 bout. Senior Brock Parker won at 149 pounds with a 9-1 major decision and Freshman Aiden Brosinski pinned his opponent in the 157 match (4:44).  Junior Coy Ruess added six more and pinned Zach Altman (6:54) before Wynsma pinned his first opponent (2:15) to make it three-straight for UW-Platteville. Hannah won by a 9-3 decision at 184 pounds and Schoenherr made it five pin falls total for UW-Platteville (4:16) in the final match of the dual for the 40-6 victory. 

UW-Platteville kept the energy rolling into their second dual of the day against No. 22 Olivet. Sophomore and No. 15 ranked Nolan McKittrick opened the wrestling with a win by 9-3 decision at 125 pounds. The Comets took a 6-3 lead after the first two matches but freshman  Kyler Neuberger's win by 6-3 decision tied the dual before Parker's 8-2 win at 149 pounds gave the Pioneers a three-point advantage. Brosinski followed his pin in the first dual with a 13-4 major decision to make it 13-6 in favor of the Pioneers. Olivet narrowed the lead by three after the sixth match of the dual, but Wynsma added five more for the Pioneers winning by a 17-2 technical fall. The Comets kept fighting and won by 11-4 decision in the 184 pound match, but Hannah's 12-0 major decision victory at 197 secured the win as the Pioneers finished 22-15.  

The momentum from defeating the No. 11 ranked team continued as McKittrick pinned Luigi Marino of No. 6 John Carroll in 1:07 to jump to a 6-0 lead. John Carroll answered back with a pin for John Carroll, but Neuberger's 9-6 decision at 141 gave the lead back to the Pioneers. Parker's 18-3 technical fall victory at 149 pounds gave UW-Platteville a 14-6 lead after four matches, but a major decision in favor of John Carroll followed by another win at 165 in sudden victory cut the Pioneers' lead to 14-13 with Wynsma up next. The Pioneer pinned the No. 6 ranked opponent in 4:09. John Carroll won its final decision at 184 and Hannah secured the win with an 11-0 major decision  at 197 pounds with Schoenherr finishing out the dual with a 4-0 decision for the final 27-16 win.

The Pioneers struggled to find their footing in the final dual of the day against No. 20 ranked Ohio Northern. The Polar Bears jumped out to a commanding lead early and secured the win after a 7-2 decision in the 174-pound match. Ohio Northern extended its lead to 28-0 after eight bouts, but the Pioneers finished strong with Hannah winning by 5-0 at 197 pounds and Schoenherr by 5-2 decision. 

The Pioneers will take a break until they return to action on Thursday, Dec. 1 when they return home to Williams Fieldhouse and open up WIAC competition against UW-Whitewater at 7 p.m.