Results

Oshkosh, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team captured its sixth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's) Saturday afternoon in Kolf Sports Center.  The Eagles finished with 145.0 team points, securing their 21st (1994, 1998-99, 2000-11, 2017-22) title in program history. 

UW-Eau Claire placed second with 138.0 points followed by UW-Platteville (123.5), UW-Oshkosh (89.0), UW-Whitewater (85.5) and UW-Stevens Point (69.0).

It is UWL's 11th (2007-11, 2017-22) conference championship under 16-year head coach Dave Malecek.  He has been selected the Mertz Mortorelli WIAC Coach of the Year on seven occasions (2007-11, 2015, 2017).  UWL earned the WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year Award for the fifth straight season Saturday.    

The Eagles won three individual titles on Saturday, including Nolan Hertel (157-pounds), Seth Brossard (165) and Ben Kawczynski (285). 

Hertel went 3-0 in winning his second straight championship at 157-pounds.  After receiving a first-round bye, Hertel won by fall (2:51) over Issac Ortegon of UW-Oshkosh in the quarterfinals. He won by major decision (9-1) over Tristan Massie of UW-Eau Claire in the semifinals and won the league title with a decision (4-0) Luke Smiley of UW-Stevens Point.  Along with the two individual crowns, Hertel placed second in 2020. 

Brossard captured the 165-pound title on Saturday, going 4-0. He opened the tournament with a win by fall (2:34) over Reid Lawrence of UW-Eau Claire before a major decision (19-5) over Tommy Hoy of UW-Whitewater in the quarterfinals. Brossard won by decision (5-2) over Preston Morgan of UW-Oshkosh in the semifinals and won the league championship with a fall (4:27) over Chase Schmidt of UW-Eau Claire. 

Kawcyznski won the 285-pound division with a 3-0 record Saturday. He received a first round bye and then won by major decision (10-2) over Brett Schoenherr of UW-Platteville in the quarterfinals. Kawczynski won by sudden victory (4-2) over Shelby Jones of UW-Whitewater in the semifinals before taking the WIAC crown with a decision (6-4) over Jordan Lemcke of UW-Oshkosh.

Fifteen of UW's 16 wrestlers placed Saturday afternoon, including Kalyn Jahn (184) who finished second with a 3-1 record. He won by fall (1:59) over Jerroed Grell of UW-Whitewater in the first round and by decision (22-16)over Max Schmitz of UW-Platteville in the quarterfinals. Jahn advanced to the title match with a decision (9-3) over Evan Lawrence of UW-Eau Claire in the semifinals. Jahn lost by decision (7-0) to Jarrit Shinhoster of UW-Whitewater for the title. 

Tyler Shackle (141) and Marcus Orlandoni (197) each finished third Saturday. After dropping his opening match, Shackle won four straight matches to finish 4-1 with one win by fall. He took third with a technical fall (15-0, 7:00) over Dakarai Clay of UW-Whitewater. Shackle lost to Clay in the quarterfinals. Orlandoni went 3-2 to finish third, winning by decision (4-3) over teammate Logan Stafford. 

Jake Mandt (149), Isaac Gust (174) and Stafford (197) placed fourth in the championshps. Mandt and Gust both went 2-2 in the tournament. Mandt lost by decision (2-0) to Jake Drexler of UW-Eau Claire in the third-place match while Gust lost by decision (4-3) to Ryan Vedner of UW-Whitewater for third-place. Stafford finished 3-2 with one win by fall. He lost to Orlandoni by decision (4-3) in the third-place match.
 

UWL's Remington Bontreger (125), Julian Purney (133), Tyler Goebel (149) and Nick Fetzner (165) finished fifth Saturday. Bontreger went 3-2 with one win by fall (2:05), coming over teammate Brandon Murphy in the fifth-place match. Purney finished 2-2 on the day with both wins by fall, including over Denis Murphy of UW-Oshkosh (2:03) in the fifth-place match. Goebel went 3-2 to place fifth, taking fifth with a medical forfeit over Gabe Pugh of UW-Eau Claire. Fetzner finished 4-3 with three wins by fall. He took fifth with a medical forfeit over Brandon Peckham of UW-Stevens Point.

Murphy (125) and Luke Clark (174) were both sixth for UWL with 2-3 records. Murphy lost to Bontreger for fifth-place while Clark lost by decision (11-5) to Ryan Riser of UW-Whitewater.

Michael Douglas (285) went 1-2 on Saturday, recording his win by fall. 

UWL returns to action Friday, February 25 at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Upper Midwest Regional at UW-Eau Claire.