Hannah and Brosinski punch tickets to NCAA Championships; Hannah wins regional title

MEQUON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team finished fifth at the NCAA DIII Upper Midwest Regional Saturday at Concordia University Wisconsin. Sophomore Tyler Hannah and freshman Aiden Brosinski qualified for the 2023 NCAA Championships while Hannah won the 197 title.

As a team, the Pioneers totaled 111 team points to finish fifth of 19 teams. Augsburg (176), UW-La Crosse (142.5), UW-Eau Claire (128. 5) and UW-Whitewater (117) finished ahead of UW-Platteville. 

Hannah went 4-0 in the two-day tournament to win the 197 pounds division for the second consecutive year. The No. 8 ranked Hannah opened the second day of competition with a major decision (12-1) over No. 7 ranked Parker Venz of Augsburg in the semifinal. The victory slotted Hannah to face off against No. 2 ranked Beau Yineman. Wrestling against each other for the third time this season and locked 1-1, Hannah won the championship match by tie breaker to secure the regional title.  

In the 157 pounds division, Brosinski went 2-0 on day two and finished 4-1 in the tournament to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. Brosinski opened the day with a win by fall over Tyler Bents of Concordia (2:10). The freshman advanced to the third-place match where the winner secures a spot at the national meet while the other wrestler heads home. Brosinski made it a definitive decision with a 14-6 major over Jack O'Donnell of Concordia Wisconsin.  

The remaining five wrestlers who advanced to the second day of competition ultimately each wrestled in the fifth-place match of their division. 

At 133 pounds, 2022 All-American Zach Thompson closed out his collegiate career with a sixth-place finish. Having advanced to Saturday's semifinal, Thompson suffered a 9-3 decision in favor of Dominik Mallinder of UW-Whitewater and 5-2 decision in favor of Ty Bisek of Concordia.

Coy Ruess also completed his collegiate career with a sixth-place finish. Ruess advanced to the consolation semifinal by medical forfeit and then suffered a 7-4 decision. Ruess ultimately fell in sudden victory (6-2) to UW-Stevens Point's Brandon Peckham.

Senior Nathan Wynsma finished the regional event 3-1 and placed sixth at 174 pounds due to medical forfeit in the final two matches. Wynsma overcame a day-one injury and defeated Chicago's Tyler Joseph with a 6-2 decision on Saturday morning in the Pioneer's final match for the orange and blue.

At 184 pounds, freshman Kasey Ross added his third pin of the event, defeating Wheaton's Stephen Watson (1:51), on Saturday morning. Ross dropped the consolation semifinal by 3-1 decision to Kalyn Jahn of UW-La Crosse. A medical forfeit in the fifth-place match by UW-Eau Claire's Niall Schoenfelder secured a fifth-place finish for Ross in his first regional event.

In the heavyweight division, senior Brett Schoenherr was the final Pioneer to close out their collegiate career at the regional event. Schoenherr won his first match on Saturday due to disqualification of Elmhurst's Roberto Pena. Schoenherr fell one match short of the third-place match as Chase Melton of UW-Eau Claire won the consolation semifinal with a 7-1 decision. Schoenherr ultimately finished in sixth place after Linfield's Jacob Barnes won with a 4-1 decision in the fifth-place match. The Pioneer finished the event 4-3, including two technical falls. 

Hannah and Brosinski advance to the NCAA Championships scheduled for March 10-11 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia. The Championship event will feature the top-three finishers in each weight class from the 10 regions. For more info on the NCAA Championships, click here.