19th-Ranked Warhawks Swoop Past Titans

UW-Whitewater posted the final nine points of the battle to overtake the UW-Oshkosh wrestling team, 22-17, in a WIAC dual meet on Thursday (Dec. 10) in Whitewater.

The Warhawks (4-1/2-1 WIAC), ranked 19th in the NCAA Division III, captured the last three matches with victories from Sean Pietrzyk, David Casper and James Zarate. Pietrzyk marked a 10-9 decision over Sam Laes (Sr. • Ashwaubenon) at 184 pounds, while Casper knocked off Aaron Erickson (So. • Merrill), 15-5, at 197 and Zarate topped Jason LaPlante (So. • New Berlin), 4-2, at 285.

UW-Oshkosh (1-2/0-2 WIAC) obtained a 17-13 lead after Sam Engelland (So. • Neenah) defeated Reid Dickerson, 10-4, in the 174-pound class. That bout ended a string of three consecutive wins for the Titans, who had Dan Schiferl (Fr. • Stoughton) beat Adam Spatchek, 15-2, at 157 pounds and James Dederich (Jr. • Menomonee Falls) pin Corey Schmidt in 2:34 at 165 pounds.

Kyle Wachholder and Matt Schuck each earned a decision to help the Warhawks go up, 13-4, early on. Wachholder tallied a 4-1 decision against Alex Mueller (Jr. • Jackson) at 133 pounds. In the 149-pound division, Schuck overcame Jose Quintana (So. • Burnsville, Minn.) by a 14-2 count.

In the remaining matches, the Titans’ Carl DeLuca took the 125-pound class against Matthew Oliva, 13-2, and UW-Whitewater’s Austin Bautista (141) won a forfeit.

UW-Oshkosh wrestles Loras College (Iowa) and 16th-ranked University of Dubuque (Iowa) on Saturday (Dec. 12) in Dubuque, Iowa.