Wrestling | 2/28/2026 4:11:00 PM

Eau Claire, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team placed second at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Region VII Regional Saturday at UW-Eau Claire's McPhee Physical Education Center.  

The Eagles finished with 165.0 team points while Augsburg University (Minn.) won the title with 213.0 points. UW-Eau Claire placed third with 140.5 while UW-Stevens Point was fourth with 120.0. A total of 16 teams competed.

UWL advanced eight wrestlers, including one champion in Noah Leisgang (174-pounds), to the NCAA Division III Championships scheduled for March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"Really proud of these guys to have eight qualifiers," said UWL Head Coach Dave Malecek. "We didn't perform very well at the WIAC Championships, and a lot of people were doubting us, but I believe in this team and our coaching staff. We had a great day today."

Quintin Wolbert (125), Marcus McIntyre (141), Tanner Gerber (165) and Tyler Dormanen (197) each finished second to advance to the NCAA III Championships while Joe Penchi (157), Tate Flege (184) and Markos Mihalopoulos (285) were third to qualify. UWL's Wyatt Magolski (133) finished fourth and Aidan Baum (149) fifth in Saturday's regional.

Thirty wrestlers, the top-three finishers in each of the 10 weight classes, advance to the national meet.

Leisgang captured the 174-pound title with a sudden victory (3-0) over Toren Vandenbush of MSOE (Wis.) to finish 4-0 overall in the regional. It is his third regional title, capturing the 165-pound crown in 2023 and 2024. Leisgang, ranked second in the National Wrestling Coaches Association, won by decision (9-4) over Nick Alexander of Augsburg (Minn.) in Saturday's semifinals. 

He earned two victories by technical fall on Friday, including a win (19-3, 5:28) over Clayton McKee of Aurora University (Ill.) in the first round. He advanced to the semifinals with a victory (17-1, 3:19) over Will Ohman of Lakeland University (Wis.). Making his third career trip to the national championships, Leisgang is a two-time NCAA III All-America at 165-pounds. He placed second in 2024 and third in 2023.

Wolbert placed second with a 3-1 record. He advanced to the title match with a decision (9-7) over Keno Vanier of Augsburg (Minn.) in the semifinals before dropping the championship match by decision (8-5) to UW-Eau Claire's Izzy Balsiger. Wolbert opened the tournament with a fall (1:28) over Hunter Mars of Concordia College-Moorhead (Minn.) in the first round and advanced with a technical fall (14-3, 2:46) over Jack Reina of Augustana College (Ill.) in the quarterfinals. Ranked sixth in the country, Wolbert will make his second appearance in the NCAA Division III Championships after going 1-2 last season. Wolbert won the 2025 regional and placed sixth in 2024.

McIntyre finished second at 141-pounds with a 2-1 mark and will be making his first trip to the national tournament. He won by decision (12-5) over Edgar Albino of Carthage College (Wis.) in the semifinals before falling by technical fall (16-1, 6:40) to Cole Becker of Augsburg (Minn.) for the title. After a first round bye on Friday, McIntyre won by decision (14-7) over UW-Platteville's Owen Becker in the quarterfinals.

Gerber placed second, dropping the championship match by sudden victory (4-1) to Cooper Willis of Augsburg (Minn.). Gerber advanced to the championship match with a technical fall (15-0, 1:43) over UW-Stevens Point's Dylan Cariveau in the semifinals. Gerber will make his second national appearance after earning All-America honors last season with a third-place finish. He captured the 165-pound title at the 2025 NCAA III Regional and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler. Ranked second in the NWCA, Gerber earned both of his wins by technical fall on Friday. He opened with a victory (17-2, 1:55) over Lucien Lefebvre of Linfield College (Ore.) in the first round before a win (15-0, 1:57) versus Ryan Bergman of UW-Oshkosh in the quarterfinals.

Dormanen was second with a 2-1 record at 197-pounds. He won by major decision (9-0) over Ian Pepple of UW-Eau Claire in Saturday's semifinals before dropping the title match by decision (3-2) to Ethan Winkelman of Augsburg (Minn.). Ranked fifth in the NWCA, Dormanen had a first round bye on Friday before winning by technical fall (15-0, 5:48) over Gavin Graham of MSOE (Wis.) in the quarterfinals. Dormanen will be appearing in the national championships for the first time.

Penchi advanced to the NCAA III Championships with a third-place finish at 157-pounds, going 4-1. After losing by decision (7-4) to Cameron Johnson of Aurora (Ill.) in the semifinals, Penchi came back with a decision (10-3) over Deakin Trotzer of UW-Stevens Point in the consolation semifinals and a decision (8-2) over UW-Platteville's Luke Kamish for third-place. Earning his first national tournament appearance, Penchi opened the regional with a technical fall (18-0, 2:23) over Caidan Ronning of UW-Oshkosh before a decision (4-2) against Carthage's (Wis.) Zaren Anderson in the quarterfinals.

Flege earned his bid to the national championships with a third-place finish, going 5-1 in the tournament. He won all three of matches on Saturday, including a technical fall victory (15-0, 2:40) over Jackson Hughes of MSOE (Wis.) in the third-place match. Flege, ranked fourth, won by major decision (10-2) over Ethan Ensrud of Linfield (Ore.) in the consolation round three and by decision (7-0) over Zak McPhee of UW-Eau Claire in the consolation semifinals. Earning his first NCAA III Championships appearance, Flege went 2-1 on Friday. He won by fall (1:20) over Conor Phelan of Augustana (Ill.) in the first round before losing by fall (3:29) to Carson Gellerman of Saint John's (Minn.) in the quarterfinals. Flege won by fall (1:07) versus Zach Pribyl of Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) in the consolation second round.

Mihalopoulos was third with a decision victory (4-1) over Jackson Kirsch of UW-Platteville. After losing by decision (5-3) to Sloan Welch of UW-Eau Claire in Saturday's semifinals, Mihalopoulos won by decision (5-2) versus Diego Morales of Lakeland (Wis.) in the consolation semifinals before his victory in the third-place match. He went 4-1 in the regional, opening with a technical fall (17-4, 4:03) versus Teke Nieto of Augustana (Ill.) in the first round on Friday before winning by decision (4-2) against Kirsch in the quarterfinals. Mihalopoulos is ranked 10th in the NWCA and will be making his first career trip to the NCAA III Championships.

Magolski placed fourth, finishing 3-2 in the tournament. He lost by decision (7-3) to Connor Krueger of Saint John's University (Minn.) in Saturday's semifinals before winning by technical fall (18-0, 6:54) over Tyler Evitts of Aurora University (Ill.) in the consolation semifinals. Magolski dropped the third-place match by decision (10-3) to Wyatt Unser of UW-Eau Claire. Magolski, who placed second at the 2025 regional, won by fall (1:20) over Max Vander Meide of Linfield College (Ore.) in the first round on Friday and by decision (4-3) over Kie Anderson of Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) in the quarterfinals.

Baum was fifth in the regional, going 2-3 in the tournament. After winning his first two matches on Friday, Baum lost by decision (1-0) to Riese Thornberry of UW-Stevens Point in Saturday's semifinals. He lost by decision (9-3) to Adam Whittier of UW-Platteville in the consolation semifinals and dropped the fifth-place match by decision (7-3) to Alex Morales of MSOE (Wis.). Baum earned a major decision (11-1) over Kayden Serrano of Carthage (Wis.) in the first round on Friday and won by decision (7-3) over Landon Church of UW-Eau Claire in the quarterfinals.