Choinski Earns All-America Mention At NCAA Championship
UW-Oshkosh's Mark Choinski finished sixth in the 157-pound weight class to earn All-America recognition at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship held Friday and Saturday (March 10-11) in La Crosse.
The unseeded Choinski compiled a 2-3 record in his inaugural championship appearance, including a 15-5 loss to unseeded Jimmy Davis of Loras College (Iowa) in the category's fifth-place match.
Choinski becomes the 11th UW-Oshkosh wrestler to receive NCAA Division III All-America accolades and 20th overall. The Titans had nine wrestlers collect All-American recognition at the NAIA Championship from 1964-79.
Choinski defeated a pair of seeded opponents to advance to the semifinal round of the 18-wrestler bracket. He opened the tournament with a 14-4 victory over third-seeded Nick Bova of Wabash College (Ind.) before ousting sixth-seeded Cole Sladek of Concordia College (Minn.), 13-4.
Choinski then lost his semifinal round contest by a 7-1 score to second-seeded Logan Thomsen of Wartburg College (Iowa) before being pinned in 3:16 by Bova in the consolation semifinal.
Choinski concludes his sophomore season with a 23-6 record (42-12 career record). Earlier this season he captured first place at the WIAC Championship and second place at the NCAA West Regional.
Sophomore Kody Azarian also represented UW-Oshkosh at this year's NCAA Championship. The first-year transfer from UW-Platteville marked a 1-2 record in the 141-pound weight class.
Azarian, unseeded among the bracket's 18 wrestlers, defeated fourth-seeded Tim Ambacher of Delaware Valley University (Pa.), 4-2, in his opening contest.
Azarian was then pinned in 2:15 by fifth-seeded David Flynn of Augsburg College (Minn.) in the quarterfinal round and 4:20 by unseeded Brendon Seyfried of Williams College (Mass.) in the second round of the consolation section.
Azarian finished the season with an 11-5 record. He placed second at both the WIAC Championship and NCAA West Regional.
UW-Oshkosh tallied 11 points to finish 33rd among the 57 teams that scored.
Wartburg College scored 129.5 points to win its sixth NCAA title in seven years and 13th overall. Augsburg College, the 2015 national champion, finished second with 79 points, Wabash College (Ind.) third with 62.5, Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) fourth with 61.5 and Messiah College (Pa.) fifth with 56.
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