NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional Website

Minneapolis, Minn. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team finished second at the 2018 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Upper Midwest Regional Saturday afternoon in Si Melby Hall at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Eagles finished with 128.0 team points while Augsburg University (Minn.) won the regional crown with 147.0. UW-Whitewater placed third with 93.0 points.

A total of 17 teams competed at the Upper Midwest Regional. Thirty wrestlers, the top-three finishers in each of the 10 weight classes, advanced to the 2018 NCAA Division III Championships scheduled for March 9-10 at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio.  

UWL advanced five wrestlers to the NCAA Division III Championships Saturday. The Eagles' Hayden Schlough (141-pounds), Spencer Nevills (149), Sawyer Massie (174), Wesley Schultz (197) and Konrad Ernst (285) each earned their first career appearances to the national championships. 

UWL head coach Dave Malecek was named the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the tournament. He was selected the 2015 NCAA III Midwest Regional Head Coach of the Year after the Eagles placed third. A seven-time (2007-11, 2015, 2017) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Mertz Mortoreilli Coach of the Year recipient, Malecek was voted the 2007 NCAA Rookie Coach of the Year and 2010 D3wrestle.com Coach of the Year. 

He has led UWL to top-four finishes at the NCAA III Championships in seven of his first 11 seasons. Malecek has guided the Eagles to seven WIAC titles (2007-11, 2017-18).

Schlough and Nevills each placed second Saturday. Schlough went 2-1 at 141-pounds in the tournament. After receiving a first round bye, Schlough won by fall (4:30) over Cameron Calabrese of Wheaton (Ill.) in the quarterfinals Friday. He won by decision (9-4) to David Flynn of Augsburg (Minn.) in the semifinals before dropping the title match by decision (9-5) to Jimmy McAuliffe of Elmhurst (Ill.). 

Nevills finished 3-1 in the regional at 149-pounds. He went 2-0 in Friday's action, winning by fall (2:08) over Charles Gieser of St. Olaf College (Minn.) in the first round and by major decision (15-2) over Mason Williams of Chicago (Ill.) in the quarterfinals. Nevills won by decision (5-2) over Alex Wilson of Augsburg (Minn.) in the semifinals to advance to the championship match where he lost by decision (4-3) to Josh Lawson of Elmhurst (Ill.). 

Massie, Schultz and Ernst each finished third in Saturday's regional championship. Massie went 4-1 at 174-pounds. He won by fall (:53) over Iokepa Aken of Pacific University (Ore.) in the second round Friday after a first round bye. Massie advanced to the semifinals with a win by technical fall (16-1, 6:58) over Tyler Vogt of UW-Eau Claire in the quarterfinals. He lost by decision (7-5) to Tanner Vassar of Augsburg (Minn.) in Saturday's semifinals, but came back with a pair of wins to claim a bid for the NCAA III Championships. Massie won by major decision (11-2) over Jake Johnson of Concordia Moorhead (Minn.) in the consolation semifinals and by major decision (14-3) over Nick Stencel of UW-Whitewater for third-place.  
 
 

Schultz went 3-1 at 197-pounds to claim third-place and advance to the NCAA III Championships. After a first round bye Friday, Schultz won by fall (1:16) over Duncan Payne of Chicago (Ill.) in the quarterfinals. He lost by decision (6-4) to Dylan Diebitz of UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals Saturday and advanced to the third-place match with a win by major decision (14-2) over Kody Vandeneykel of Concordia Moorhead (Minn.) in the consolation semifinals. Schultz won by fall (2:30) over Lance Benick of Augsburg (Minn.) in the third-place match. 

Ernst, who placed fourth at the 2017 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional, finished 4-1 at 285-pounds at this year's meet to finish third. He won by fall (2:51) over Steve Naldzyhan of Pacific (Ore.) in the first round Friday and by sudden victory (6-4) over Ross Agg of UW-Stevens Point in the quarterfinals. After losing by fall (4:48) to D'Andre Johnson of UW-Platteville in Saturday's semifinals, Ernst won by decision (1-0) over Will Hare of Chicago (Ill.) in the consolation semifinals and took third with a win by major decision (10-0) over Troy Beaman of St. Olaf College (Minn.). 

Four other wrestlers placed for UWL Saturday, including Zach Villarreal (125-pounds) and Josh Stenger (133) who finished fourth. The Eagles' Mitch Hertel (165) placed fifth while Grant Zamin (157) was sixth.  

Villarreal placed fourth at 125-pounds with an overall regional record of 3-2. He earned a pair of wins by technical fall Friday, defeating Ryan Boncamper of the University of Chicago (Ill.) in the first round (24-6, 4:53) and Ben Vosters of UW-Stevens Point in the quarterfinal (18-2, 2:57). Villarreal lost by decision (10-5) to Carlos Fuentez of Wheaton (Ill.) in the semifinals, but came back to win by fall (4:02) over Jared Braun of Elmhurst (Ill.) in the consolation semifinals. He lost by fall (5:36) to Mike Tortorice of UW-Whitewater in the third-place match. 

Stenger also finished fourth with a 3-2 record. He opened with a technical fall (17-1, 6:42) over Gage Bayless of Chicago (Ill.) in the first round Friday and won by fall (:32) over Scott Arneson of UW-Platteville in the quarterfinals. Stenger then lost by decision (8-5) to Sam Bennyhoff of Augsburg (Minn.) in the semifinals before a win by decision (8-4) over Hazen Rice of UW-Whitewater in the consolation semifinals. He dropped the third-place match by decision (10-7) to Tyler Demo of UW-Eau Claire.

Hertel placed fifth at 165-pounds for UWL with a 4-2 record in the two-day regional. He went 2-1 Friday, winning by decision (10-4) over Joseph Heinz of Concordia Moorhead College (Minn.) in the first round before losing by major decision (11-3) to Chase Schmidt of UW-Eau Claire in the quarterfinals. Hertel, who placed sixth in the regional a year ago, came back to win by fall (1:34) over Alex Montbriand of Concordia University Wisconsin in the consolation second round. He won by decision (9-4) over Kaleb Winebarger of Pacific (Ore.) in the consolation quarterfinals Saturday before losing by sudden victory (6-4) to Nicholas Bonomo of UW-Whitewater. Hertel then won by decision (5-2) over Schmidt of UW-Eau Claire to earn fifth-place.

Zamin finished sixth with a 2-3 record in the tournament at 157-pounds. He earned a pair of victories Friday after a first round bye. Zamin won by major decision (13-3) over Jack Rathburn of MSOE (Wis.) in the second round and by decision (12-6) over John Prieto of Elmhurst College (Ill.) in the quarterfinals. He then dropped three matches Saturday, falling by decision (5-4) to Ryan Epps of Augsburg (Minn.) in the semifinals, by decision (5-1) to Seth Vosters of UW-Eau Claire in the consolation semifinals and by decision (5-1) to Jason Crary of Chicago (Ill.) in the fifth-place match.

The Eagles' Sean O'Neil went 2-2 at this year's regional championship at 184-pounds. He won by major decision (13-0) over Jason Lynch of Chicago (Ill.) in his opening match Friday before losing by decision (3-1) to Colten Cashmore of UW-Oshkosh in the quarterfinals. O'Neil then won by decision (5-3) over Mark Miller of Elmhurst (Ill.) in a second round consolation match before being eliminated with a loss by decision (4-3) to Isaac Odell of Wheaton (Ill.) in the consolation quarterfinals.

UWL returns to action Friday, March 9 at the NCAA Division III Championships in Cleveland, Ohio.