Vandenberg Leads Titans At WIAC Championship
Dellas Vandenberg finished fourth in the 133-pound weight class to lead UW-Oshkosh at WIAC Wrestling Championship (presented by Culver's) held Sunday (Feb. 14) in Stevens Point.
Vandenberg was one of six UW-Oshkosh wrestlers who placed in the top six. The group also included Julius Smith and Elijah Burdick who finished fifth at 174 and 285 pounds, respectively.
Sixth-place finishes went to the Titans' Craig Mason at 141 pounds, Joe Pelkey at 157 and Nick Monty at 165.
Following a first-round bye, Vandenberg was pinned in 2:49 by UW-La Crosse's Reid Johnson. Vandenberg then defeated Zachary Blizzard of UW-Platteville, 19-7, before receiving a medical forfeit from UW-Whitewater's Nick Koch. Vandenberg met Johnson in the third-place match and again lost on a pin, this time in 2:07.
Smith received a pair of byes and advanced to semifinals with a 6-0 victory over Eric Khondaker of UW-Whitewater. Smith then lost on a pin in 2:34 to eventual champion Tyler Schneider of UW-La Crosse and by a 9-4 score to Schneider's teammate Sean O'Neill. Smith earned fifth place with an 8-2 win over UW-Platteville's Jacob Carpenter.
Burdick followed a bye in the first round with a 13-3 loss to Justin Karkula of UW-Eau Claire. Burdick then pinned Jordan Festge of UW-Whitewater in 1:49 before losing a 6-3 result to Donny Ralston of UW-Stevens Point. Burdick took fifth place with a 5-0 win over UW-Stevens Point's Dominic Gunderson.
Mason received a first-round bye before losing a 4-2 decision to UW-Whitewater's Ronny Hauser. Mason then posted victories of 4-2 over UW-Oshkosh's Austin Loos and 13-5 over UW-Stevens Point's Steven Collins before being pinned in 4:40 by UW-Stevens Point's Jared Kust. Mason was unable to wrestle Hauser in the fifth-place match due to an injury.
Pelkey began his activity with a 9-5 loss to UW-Whitewater's Kory Jauch in the first round. Pelkey then defeated Jacob Somann of UW-Platteville, 15-0, and pinned Gunnar Melstrand of UW-Platteville in 1:47 before losing a 3-0 verdict to UW-La Crosse's Austin Schoen. Pelkey was unable to finish his fifth-place match with UW-Stevens Point's Jacob Boivin due to an injury.
Monty started his wrestling with an 8-3 win over Tanner Goddard of UW-Stevens Point. After being pinned in 4:42 by UW-La Crosse's Derek Weinmann, Monty edged Isaac Brosinskii by an 8-7 score. Monty was then pinned by UW-Whitewater's Nate Mlodzik in 4:17 and in the fifth-place match by UW-La Crosse's Clark Doyle in 4:44.
UW-Whitewater, which had five individual champions, scored 161.5 points to capture the team title for the fifth consecutive year and 17th time overall. UW-La Crosse finished second in the six-team meet with 156 points and UW-Stevens Point third with 119.5.
Rounding out the team rankings at the 61st edition of the championship were fourth-place UW-Platteville with 76 points, fifth-place UW-Eau Claire with 53.5 and sixth-place UW-Oshkosh with 49.5. The Titans finished fifth at last year's meet with 45 points.
This year's championship allowed each team to enter two wrestlers per weight class. The team's highest finishing wrestler in each weight class was the only one that was factored in the scoring.
UW-Oshkosh is off until it competes at the NCAA Division III West Regional on Feb. 27 in Minneapolis, Minn.
WIAC Wrestling Championships Program
WIAC Wrestling Championship Website
Photo courtesy of UW-Stevens Point