NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional Website
Mequon, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team is in second-place after the first day of competition at the 2023 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Upper Midwest Regional Friday at Concordia University Wisconsin. The Eagles have 86.0 team points while Augsburg University (Minn.) leads with 100.0.
UW-Eau Claire is in third-place (82.5) followed by UW-Platteville (68.5) and UW-Whitewater (67.5). A total of 19 teams are competing in the regional.
Seven Eagles advanced to Saturday's semifinals with 2-0 records, including
Brandon Murphy (125-pounds),
Tyler Goebel (149),
Nolan Hertel (157),
Noah Leisgang (165),
Seth Brossard (174),
Kalyn Jahn (184) and
Michael Douglas (285).
Zach Weiler (133) and
Sam Lorenz (141) also advanced to Saturday's competition.
Murphy opened with a win by decision (3-1) at 125-pounds over Jake Hamulak of the University of Chicago (Ill.) in the first round and earned a win by decision (6-2) over Thomas Turner of Pacific Lutheran University (Ore.) in the quarterfinals. Murphy will face Luc Valdez from UW-Oshkosh in the semifinals.
Goebel opened with a major decision (13-1) over Luke Moczynski before a win by decision (15-10) over Veliko Kochiu of Concordia Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. He takes on Charlie Stuhl of Augsburg (Minn.) in one of Saturday's semifinals at 149-pounds.
Hertel advanced to Saturday's semifinals after a win by fall (2:25) over UW-Stevens Point's Alex Gundrum in the opening round and a technical fall (22-7, 6:09) over UW-Whitewater's Lucio Morgan in the quarterfinals. Hertel will face Aiden Brosinski of UW-Platteville in the semifinals.
At 165-pounds, Leisgang advanced to the semifinals with a decision (4-1) over Coy Ruess of UW-Platteville in the quarterfinals. Leisgang won by technical fall (19-2, 4:29) in his first round match with Francisco Endi of Pacific Lutheran (Ore.). He will take on Ryan Vedner of UW-Whitewater in Saturday's semifinals.
Brossard earned wins by technical fall and fall in Friday's first two rounds. He defeated Christian Gilbert of Carthage College (Wis.) by technical fall (17-0, 4:53) in the first round and advanced to the semifinals with a fall (3:49) over Tyler Joseph from the University of Chicago (Ill.). He will face Luke Silva of Aurora University (Ill.) in the semifinals.
UWL's Jahn opened with a win by fall (2:11) over Devin Rogers of Carthage (Wis.) in the first round and then won by decision (4-0) over Trystan Altensey of UW-Stevens Point in the quarterfinals. Jahn takes on Jaritt Shinhoster from UW-Whitewater in one of the semifinal matches.
Douglas earned a fall (1:13) over Tom Allen of Saint John's University (Minn.) in his opening match. He advanced to the semifinals with a decision (3-2) over Cole Fibranz of Chicago (Ill.). Douglas faces Chase Melton of UW-Eau Claire in the semifinals.
Weiler went 2-1 at 133-pounds. After dropping his first match by fall (1:29) to Blaze Thurber of UW-Stevens Point, Weiler took his next two. He won by major decision (16-2) over Brendan Johnston of Wheaton College (Ill.) in the consolation first round and by sudden victory (8-6) over Cade Willis of Augsburg (Minn.) in the consolation second round. Weiler will take on Ty Bisek of Concordia (Minn.) in the consolation third round.
Lorenz also finished 2-1 on the day at 141-pounds. He woon by fall (1:10) over Shoichi Hashimoto of Lakeland University (Wis.) in the first round before losing by decision (5-2) to Ethan Harsted of Wheaton (Ill.) in the quarterfinals. He came back with a win by fall (1:55) over Alec Schmacht of UW-Platteville in the consolation second round. Lorenz faces Andrew Kested of UW-Eau Claire in the third round Saturday morning.
Ben Kawczynski went 1-2 at 197-pounds on Friday. He won by fall (1:32) over Jake Schmitt of MSOE (Wis.) in the first round. Kawczynski lost by fall (5:48) to Gabriel Zierden of Concordia College (MInn.) in the quarterfinals and by sudden victory (8-6) to Sam Melton of UW-Eau Claire.
Thirty wrestlers, the top-three finishers in each of the 10 weight classes at the Upper Midwest Regional, advance to the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships scheduled for March 10-11 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia.
Action continues at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 25.
