Hannah and Wynsma’s runner-up finishes highlight WIAC Championship

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team finished fourth of six teams at the 68th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship (presented by Culver's) Saturday in Quandt Fieldhouse. Sophomore Tyler Hannah and senior Nathan Wynsma advanced to championship matches where they finished runner-ups while six more wrestlers placed in the top-six.

February 11, 2023

Photos courtesy of Steve Frommell

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team finished fourth of six teams at the 68^th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship (presented by Culver's) Saturday in Quandt Fieldhouse. Sophomore Tyler Hannah and senior Nathan Wynsma advanced to championship matches where they finished runner-ups while six more wrestlers placed in the top-six.

The Pioneers bounced back after a slow start to the day and totaled 91 team points, trailing Champion UW-La Crosse which tallied 161 points and UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater which tied for second place with 125 team points.

Hannah finished runner-up at 197 pounds for a second consecutive year after placing second his freshman season. Overall, #8 Hannah had a dominate day defeating his first opponent by technical fall (3:24 (18-0)) in the quarterfinal before pinning UW-La Crosse's #9 ranked Ben Kawczynski (4:44) to advance to the first-place match. Hannah faced off against #2 ranked Beau Yineman of UW-Oshkosh in the title bout and the two wrestled into sudden victory where the Titan ultimately won (SV-1 3-1).

Wynsma added a second runner-up finish to his career accolades on Saturday as he advanced to the 174 pounds first-place match. The senior returned to the championship mat for the first time since he finished second at the WIAC Championship his freshman year, wrestling at 164 pounds. Wynsma opened the day with a dominate 15-0 technical fall win (4:21) over UW-Whitewater's Tyler Haydon. The Pioneer doubled down and defeated Austin Schrei of UW-Stevens Point by technical fall (3:43), this time outscoring his opponent 18-0. In the semifinal, Wynsma won by 6-4 decision over Preston Carlisle of UW-Eau Claire to punch his ticket to the first-place bout. UW-Eau Claire's Jared Stricker ultimately took home the title by medical forfeit.

Making his first conference tournament appearance, freshman Aiden Brosinski took home third place at 157 pounds. Brosinski defeated his first opponent by 8-2 decision before dropping the semifinal match to #4 ranked Nolan Hertel of UW-La Cross, 6-2. The Pioneer bounced back and pinned teammate David Cushman (1:11) to advance to the third place match. Brosinski finished in dominate fashion by taking home the bronze with a 13-5 major decision over Zack Schneider of UW-Eau Claire. Cushman joined Brosinski on the 157-pounds podium, taking home sixth place.

Sophomore Nolan McKittrick made a second consecutive trip to the WIAC 125 pounds podium as he finished fourth after securing the bronze his freshman year. McKittrick was forced to work his way back after suffering a late fall (6:24) to Tyer Klein of UW-Whitewater in the opening match. The Pioneer bounced back and defeated Remington Bontreger of UW-La Crosse in a hard fought 3-0 decision and then won by technical fall over UW-Whitewater's Jalen Dunson (5:44, 16-0) to advance to the third-place match. McKittrick ultimately fell 8-1 to Luca Paladino of UW-Stevens Point.

Freshman Kasey Ross placed fourth at 184 pounds in his first WIAC Championship appearance. Kalyn Jahn of UW-La Crosse edged the Pioneer 3-0 in the quarterfinal, but Ross responded with a 16-0 technical fall win (3:00) over Jack Callen of UW-Stevens Point. Ross advanced to the third-place match after a win by medical forfeit. The Pioneer took home a fourth place finish as he faced off again against Jahn who won by 11-2 major decision.

Senior Brett Schoenherr was the fourth Pioneer to advance to the third-place match. Schoenherr defeated Collin Feucht of UW-Oshkosh 9-3 in the 285 pounds quarterfinal. Schoenherr was on the unfavorable side of an ultimate tie breaker in the semifinals, but the Pioneer rallied and defeated Guyon Cyprian of UW-Oshkosh 3-1 in SV-1. The Pioneer faced off against Shelby Jones of UW-Whitewater in the third-place bout and the Warhawk clinched the bronze by another ultimate tie breaker (2-2). Schoenherr adds the fourth-place finish to last season's fifth-place finish.

Freshman Kyler Neuberger ended his day with a victory in the fifth-place 149 pounds match. Wrestling back after a fall to #5 ranked Jake Burford of UW-Whitewater in the first round, Neuberger used a 9-4 decision and a 6-5 victory in sudden victory to advance to the consolation semifinals. The Pioneer suffered a second fall, but ended the day with a big 12-4 major decision over Joey Ahern of UW-Stevens Point in the fifth place match.

After the championship, Schoenherr was also recognized with the scholar-athlete nominees while Wynsma was named to the Sportsmanship team.

Wrestlers

125: Nolan McKittrick

133: Jack Sullivan, Alec Schmacht

149: Kyler Neuberger

157: Aiden Brosinski, David Cushman

165: Coy Ruess, Matt Rogge

174: Ryan Pothoof, Nathan Wynsma

184: Kasey Ross, Evan Frisque

197: Tyler Hannah, Alex Witt

285: Wyatt Ripp, Brett Schoenherr

Full Results