Wrestling | 1/22/2026 8:46:00 PM

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team improved to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) with a 29-9 victory over UW-Whitewater Thursday night in Mitchell Hall.

The Warhawks drop to 6-7 overall and 3-2 in the conference. 

UWL is ranked third and UW-Whitewater 13th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Top 25 Poll.

With the victory, UWL extends its league dual winning streak to 21. The Eagles are 92-9 (.911) all-time in WIAC duals under head coach Dave Malecek. 

It UWL's fifth straight dual victory over UW-Whitewater and eighth in the last nine meetings overall.

The Eagles took an 8-0 lead on Thursday with a pair of major decisions. Cole Gentsch won by major decision (16-2) over Luke Berktold at 125-pounds and Wyatt Magolski won by major decision (14-2) over Jordan Rasof at 133.

UW-Whitewater won the next three duals by decision to take a 9-8 lead. Ninth-ranked Justin Fortugno won by decision (5-3) over 12th-ranked Talan Schutte at 141-pounds while top-ranked Dom Mallinder won by decision (11-5) over Kellen Kelly at 149. The Warhawks' Luke Swan followed with a win (8-2) over Joe Penchi at 157.

UWL swept the final five matches to secure the dual win. Tanner Gerber, ranked third at 165-pounds, gave the Eagles a 13-9 lead with a technical fall (15-0, 2:02) over the Warhawks' Cal Kirchner. Fifth-ranked Eddie Simes followed with a win by decision (4-1) over 15th-ranked Jermaine Butler at 174 to make it 16-9. 

Tate Flege, ranked third at 184, won by major decision (16-7) over RJ Samuels to extend the Eagles' lead to 20-9. Sixth-ranked Tyler Dormanen won by decision (6-0) over Tyler Haydon at 197-pounds and Henry VanderHeiden won by fall (4:29) over Anthony Soto at 285-pounds.

UWL returns to action Saturday, January 24 hosting second-ranked Augsburg University (Minn.) at 2 p.m.