Titans Have One Champion, 14 Place Winners At Pointer Open

Jordan Blanchard won the 174-pound title as UW-Oshkosh opened its 2019-20 wrestling season with 14 place winners at the UW-Stevens Point Pointer Open held Saturday (Nov. 2).

The non-scoring event featured participants from seven collegiate programs, including NCAA Division I University of Wisconsin and UW-Oshkosh's NCAA Division III rivals Central College (Iowa), Saint John's University (Minn.) and UW-Stevens Point.

Blanchard took first place in his weight class by going unbeaten in four contests. He won the title with a 9-4 victory over the University of Wisconsin's Seth Vosters. Blanchard pinned his first three opponents, sticking Peyton Hammerich of Central College to the mat in 1:30, Charles Hindley of Concordia University Wisconsin in 53 seconds and Austin Schrei of UW-Stevens Point in 2:19.

UW-Oshkosh had pair of second-place finishers in Colten Cashmore at 197 pounds and Jordan Lemcke at 285.

Cashmore won his first two contests before losing a 12-9 decision to Central College's Gavin Babcock in the title bout. Cashmore opened with a pin of Central College's Tanner Zimmerman in 6:01 and a 4-3 victory over unattached Beau Yineman.

Lemcke also posted a 2-1 record. He lost his title contest by a 3-2 score to Central College's Duncan Lee. Lemcke began the tournament with a pin of UW-Stevens Point's Kody Priesgen in 2:03 and a 5-3 win over Central College's Sam Zook. Lemcke also placed second in the 285-pound category at last year's tournament.

Finishing third for the Titans were Denis Murphy at 125 pounds, Keagan Lazar at 149 and Bryce Herlache at 184.

Murphy won his third-place match with a pin of Central College's Chase Poston in 57 seconds. He opened the tournament with a 13-3 win over Poston before suffering a 7-2 loss to University of Wisconsin's Ethan Rotondo. Murphy advanced to his third-place contest with a pin of UW-Oshkosh teammate Luc Valdez in 2:16.

Lazar edged unattached Cody Welker in his third-place bout by a 6-5 result. Lazar started his tournament with a 16-5 win over UW-Steven Point's Mason Wheeler before losing a 5-4 decision to Central College's Robert Areyano. Lazar rebound from his loss with a pin of Central Colleges Ryne Mohrfeld in 5:51.

Herlache won four of his five contests, including a 7-5 sudden victory over Central College's Griffin McBride in their third-place match. Herlache started his competition with a pin of Saint John's University's Daniel Gainer in 2:37 and a 9-3 win over Central College's Michael Escobedo before losing a 5-2 result to unattached Dan Squires. Herlache then qualified for his third-place match with a 3-2 win over UW-Oshkosh teammate John DePersia. Herlache also placed third in the 184-pound division at last year's tournament. 

Finishing fourth for the Titans was AJ Schoenfuss at 133 pounds (2-2 record).

Taking fifth place for UW-Oshkosh were Valdez at 125 pounds (3-1 record), Nate Arquinego at 157 (3-3, 3 pins), Jake Boyette at 174 (2-2, 1) and Ben Kitslaar at 285 (4-2, 4).

UW-Oshkosh's sixth-place finishers were Justin Mitchell at 125 pounds (1-3 record), Matt Joyce at 133 (2-3, 1 Pin) and DePersia at 184 (3-3, 1).

UW-Oshkosh wrestles UW-Whitewater in a dual meet on Thursday (Nov. 7).