Providence, R.I. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team finished fifth Saturday night at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships in the Amica Mutual Pavillion.
 
The Eagles finished with 65.0 team points while host Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) and Wartburg College (Iowa) tied for the national title with 83.5 points. Augsburg University (Minn.) was third with 74.0 points and Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio) was fourth with 69.0. A total of 60 teams scored points.

 

Four wrestlers earned NCAA Division III All-America honors, including Marcus Orlandoni who captured the national title at 184-pounds. 
 
Orlandoni won the title with a sudden victory (2-1) over Brandt Bombard of Augsburg (Minn.) to claim his first NCAA Division III All-America award. He advanced to the final with a win by decision (3-2) over Ganon Smith of Elizabethtown University (Pa.) in Saturday's semifinals.
 
He went 4-0 in the tournament, winning by decision (tiebreaker 2-1) over Ryder Slayton of Messiah College (Pa.) in the first round on Friday before earning a win by decision (7-1) over Austen Wetzel of Westminster College (Mo.) in the quarterfinals.
 
Orlandoni, seeded fifth this year, was making his second trip to the NCAA III Championships. He went 0-2 last season.
 
He is the second UWL wrestler in school history to win the 184-pound national title, joining Jeremy Miller who won the title in 2000.
 

The Eagles' Tanner Gerber (165), Tyler Goebel (157) and Ben Kawczynski (197) also earned All-America recognition on Saturday. Gerber placed third while Goebel was sixth and Kawczynski seventh. It is the first career All-America award for Gerber and the second for Goebel and Kawczynski.
 
Gerber, the tournament's second-seed, came back to place third with six straight victories. He went 3-0 on Saturday, earning a decision (10-4) over fourth-seeded CJ Christopher Shea of Wesleyan University (Ct.) in the consolation fifth round and by decision (5-1) over Andrew Supers of Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio) in the consolation semifinals. Gerber claimed third-place with a major decision (15-6) over Brayden Peet of UW-Whitewater.
 
Gerber went 6-1 in the tournament. After losing by fall (6:40) to Christopher Stathopoulos of Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) in the first round on Friday, Gerber won by sudden victory (9-6) over Alex Villar of North Central College (Ill.) in the consolation second round and by decision (7-6) over Dustin Bohren of Loras College (Iowa) in the consolation third round. He advanced to Saturday's action with a win by decision (12-10) over Jack Richardson of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in the consolation fourth round.
 
Goebel, seeded seventh, placed sixth on Saturday to earn his second career All-America honors. He was second at 149-pounds last season.
 
Goebel went 2-3 in this year's tournament, losing by decision (8-1) to third-seeded Cooper Pontelandolfo of New York University in Saturday's semifinals. He lost by decision (3-2) to Aiden Smith of Adrian College (Mich.) in the consolation semifinals Saturday and by major decision (11-2) to Peter Kane of Williams College (Mass.) in the fifth-place match. 

 
He went 2-0 on Friday, opening with a decision (7-3) over Nate Camiscioli of Castelton University (Vt.) in the first round while advancing to the semifinals with a win by decision (5-4) over Kane in the quarterfinals.
 
Third-seeded Kawczynski picked up his second career All-America award on Saturday with his seventh-place finish. He lost by fall (1:43) to seventh-seeded Dylan Harr of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in the consolation fifth round and took seventh-place with a major decision victory (10-0) over Jackson Punzel of Wheaton College (Ill.).
 
Kawczynski went 2-1 on Friday, opening with a win by fall (2:11) over Punzel in the first round. He lost by sudden victory (4-1) to Joseph Petrella of Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) in the quarterfinals, but came back with a win by fall (3:34) over Will Davis of Elizabethtown College (N.J.) in the consolation fourth round. Kawczynski went 3-2 overall in the tournament.
 
He earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish last year. Kawczynski was making his third career appearance, going 2-2 at 285-pounds in 2022.
 
The Eagles' Quintin Wolbert (125), Sam Lorenz (133), and Eddie Simes (174) each went 1-2 on Friday while Michael Douglas (285) finished 2-2. Wyatt Magolski (133) finished 0-2.
 

UWL has now recorded 25 top-10 finishes at the national championships since joining the NCAA III in 1992, including a school-best second-place showing in 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2010.  The Eagles finished with a school record 106.0 points at the 2006 championships.  The Eagles have had 14 top-four finishes at the national meet. The 2020 and 2021 NCAA III Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 public health threat. 

The Eagles have claimed 23 (15 wrestlers) NCAA III individual champions.  UWL has claimed 143 All-America honors in wrestling, including 127 in the NCAA III and 16 in the NAIA. The Eagles had a school record seven wrestlers earn All-America recognition in 2005 and 2006.  

Dave Malecek is in his 19th season as UWL's head coach. He was selected the 2025 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division Coach of the Year. Malecek also earned the 205 NCAA Division III Region VII Regional Coach of the Year after leading UWL to a first-place finish with 192.5 points. It marked UWL's first regional championship in school history.
 
Malecek has led the Eagles to top-four finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships in eight different years. UWL placed second in 2008 and 2010, third in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2024 and fourth in 2012 and 2013.
 
Inducted into the NWCA Hall of Fame in 2024, Malecek had coached 14 NCAA Division III champions and had 72 wrestlers earn All-America honors in 19 seasons.