by Eric Kunick (UWL Interim Assistant Media Relations Director)

La Crosse, Wis. – Former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student-athlete and two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-America Eric Twohey continues to pursue his passion; however, that passion has added another focus.
 
Twohey is still having plenty of success on the wrestling mat even while being a medical student at the University of Minnesota. In his third year of medical school, Twohey has one year left of school and will then be entering his residency that generally takes three to five years.   

When asked how he balances medical school and his wrestling career, Twohey had this to say: "I believe you make time for what is important to you. That being said, I have to be pretty flexible with my training schedule. The amount of time, and the time of day/night, that I am in the hospital varies from week to week depending on what specific rotation I am in. But no matter what rotation I am in, I make sure to set aside 1-2 hours a day for training. Then it comes down to finding a partner to wrestle with. If I can, great. If I can't, I will get some sort of workout in on my own (lifting, running, etc.). I am very fortunate to have a great group of coaches and wrestlers who are willing to be flexible with their time to work with me. I wouldn't be able to do it without them."  

While the rigors of medical school are large, Twohey continues to find or "make" time for wrestling. He is wrestling at the senior level, which consists mainly of people out of college. Like his time at UWL, Twohey is still having success on the mat as he finished second at a tournament in Finland in December and third at the Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado in January.
 
A native of Stewartville, Minnesota, Twohey earned four letters in wrestling at UWL while competing at 184 or 197-pounds.  The 2014-15 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Wrestler of the Year, Twohey won the 2015 conference championship at 197-pounds and the 2015 NCAA III Midwest Regional title before taking third at the NCAA Division III Championships and finishing the season 31-2. As a junior, Twohey finished eighth at 184-pounds at the national meet. He finished 95-26 in his four-year career.   
 
"To sum up what the wrestling program and Coach Malecek have done for me in a few sentences does not begin to do justice to the impact that the coaches and program have had on my life," says Twohey. "Coach Malecek, Needham, Cook, Passe, and several other coaches I was lucky enough to work with, made me not only the best wrestler I could be, but also a better person. They left me with a lot of lessons and stories that I will carry with me throughout life. One of the biggest is to live life with passion. Whether it's your job, being a parent or spouse, do it passionately. This was something all of the staff exemplified on a daily basis, and it was what made wrestling for them one of the best decisions I have ever made."

During his time at UWL, Twohey had just as much success on the mat as he did in the classroom. Twohey was named a 2014-15 College Sports Information Director of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America First Team recipient as a senior and a second team member as a junior. Named the 2014-15 WIAC Max Sparger Wrestling Scholar-Athlete, Twohey was a three-time National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Scholar and was selected four times to the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll.   

Twohey graduated in 2015 with a degree in exercise sport science with as a minor in chemistry. He still has very special memories from his time as a student and believes being a student at UWL helped get him to where he is at today.

"The classes and professors at UWL put me in a position to succeed as I entered medical school" says Twohey. "I believe my education in exercise science from UWL will help me practice a more holistic, lifestyle-first type of practice that will ultimately benefit my future patients."

As Twohey continues his professional pursuit of becoming a doctor, he does not know when his wrestling career will come to an end. He is headed to Las Vegas for the US Open in April and the World Team Trials in North Carolina in May. If he does well in North Carolina, Twohey will represent team USA at the World Championships in Kazakhstan.