Wrestling | 2/14/2026 8:21:00 PM

Brackets

Eau Claire, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team placed second at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships (presented by Culver's) Saturday at UW-Eau Claire's McPhee Physical Education Center.
 
The Eagles finished with 153.0 team points while UW-Eau Claire captured the championship with 157.5. UW-Whitewater placed third with 115.5 points with UW-Stevens Point fourth with 87.5, UW-Platteville fifth with 60.0 and UW-Oshkosh sixth with 28.5.
 
UWL, winners of the last nine league championships, have won a WIAC record 24 (1994, 1998-99, 2000-11, 2017-25) titles in school history.
 
UWL entered the championship fifth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Tournament Team Rankings released on February 6. UW-Whitewater was ranked 10th and UW-Eau Claire 18th.  Each institution was permitted to enter two wrestlers per weight class and only the highest finishing wrestler from each institution factored into the team scoring.
 
Fourteen of UWL's 15 wrestlers placed on Saturday, including three champions.
 
The Eagles' Tanner Gerber won his second straight 165-pound title, finishing 4-0 on Saturday. He opened with a technical fall (16-0, 3:20) over Blake Delsman of UW-Platteville in the first round. Gerber won by fall (:21) over Joseph Spizzirri of UW-Oshkosh in the quarterfinals and by technical fall (15-0, 7:00) over Jonathon Harvey of UW-Eau Claire in the semifinals. He won the title with a decision (5-1) over Brayden Peet of UW-Whitewater.
 
Noah Leisgang took his third league championship in school history, winning this year's 174-pound division. He won the 165-pound title in 2023 and 2024. Leisgang went 4-0 on Saturday. After a major decision (15-3) over UW-Whitewater's Caden Kirchner in the first round and a technical fall (17-1, 3:29) over Kyle Rasper of UW-Oshkosh in the quarterfinals, Leisgang won by technical fall (17-1, 3:40) against Raydon Bipes of UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals. He won the title with a decision (6-3) over teammate Eddie Simes.

Leisgang was named the WIAC Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete at the conclusion of the championships. 
 
UWL's Tyler Dormanen won the 197-pound conference crown on Saturday with a 3-0 record. He was third at 184-pounds a year ago. Dormanen earned a win by fall (6:19) over Owen Hansen of UW-Stevens Point in the second round after a first-round bye. He won by technical fall (15-0, 4:33) against Jackson Peak of UW-Eau Claire in the semifinals and won the championship with a major decision (16-6) over UW-Eau Claire's Ian Pepple.
 
Four wrestlers placed second on Saturday, including Wyatt Magolski (133), Joe Penchi (157), Eddie Simes (174) and Tate Flege (184).
 
Magolski went 2-1 on Saturday, losing by technical fall (15-0) to Wyatt Unser of UW-Eau Claire in the championship match. He was also second last season. Penchi also finished 2-1 with one win by fall. He lost by decision (10-4) to Luke Swan of UW-Whitewater in the title match.
 
Simes finished 2-1 with one victory by fall, recording his third top five finish in his career at the WIAC Championships. He was second at 174-pounds in 2025 and fifth in 2024. Simes lost to teammate Leisgang for the championship. Flege was 1-1 in this year's tournament, losing by decision (6-1) to Zak McPhee of UW-Eau Claire in the championship. Flege was third at 165-pounds in 2025 and second in 2024.
 
UWL had three wrestlers finish third on Saturday with Grant Madl (125), Marcus McIntyre (141) and Henry VanderHeiden (285) while Cole Gentsch (125), Kolt Knaack (157) and Markos Mihalopoulos (285) were fourth.
 
Madl went 4-1 in the tournament with one win by fall. He won by decision (8-5) over Gentsch in the third-place match. Madl finished sixth at 125-pounds last season. McIntyre finished 4-1 with one win by fall on Saturday, earning third-place with a technical fall (21-5, 6:37) over UW-Platteville's Owen Becker. VanderHeiden finished 3-1 with all three wins coming by fall. He took third place with a fall (1:24) over teammate Mihalopoulos.
 
Gentsch and Knaack both went 2-2 with Gentsch earning one win by fall. Knaack lost by fall (3:39) to Briar Ivey of UW-Eau Claire for third place. Mihalopoulos finished 3-2 with one win by fall.
 
The Eagles' Aidan Baum placed sixth at 149-pounds with a 3-3 record. He lost by decision (9-5) to UW-Stevens Point's Riese Thornberry.
 
Kellen Kelly went 0-2 at 149-pounds on Saturday.
 
UWL returns to action Friday-Saturday, February 27-28 at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Region VII Regional at UW-Eau Claire.