Titans Take 16th Place At 32-Team Willson Invitational

UW-Oshkosh had two wrestlers place in the top seven as it finished 16th at the Pete Willson Invitational held Friday and Saturday (Jan. 28-29) in Wheaton, Ill.

The Titans received their top individual results from Nazar Kulchytskyy (Fr. • Sosnivka, Ukraine), who took sixth place at 149 pounds, and Sam Engelland (Jr. • Neenah), who placed seventh at 184.

Kulchytskyy got started by topping AJ Johnson of Heidelberg University (Ohio), 19-3. In match number two, Kulchytskyy dominated UW-Whitewater’s Cade Sarbacker by a 15-6 score. Kulchytskyy settled for sixth place in the tournament after forfeiting his remaining three matches because of an injury.

Engelland compiled four wins, including a 5-3 victory over UW-Parkside's Ryan Woods in the opener. After defeating Trine University’s (Ind.) Jason Alber, 3-0, Engelland suffered a 6-4 loss to Andy Jenkins of the University of Mount Union (Ohio).

In the wrestlebacks, Engelland marked a 6-0 victory over Kyle Raber of Ohio Northern University and lost a 5-3 decision to Billy Malone of North Central College (Ill.). Engelland won his seventh-place match on a medical forfeit over Dirk Hurrin of Lindenwood University (Mo.).

At 165 pounds, Aaron Konitzer (Jr. • Abrams) tallied a 2-2 record that featured a pin over Josiah Brendemuehl of Maranatha Baptist Bible College in 4:37. The Titans’ other pin came from Ryan Heath (Jr. • Merrill), who flattened 285-pound Will Porter of John Carroll University (Ohio) in a time of 2:22. Zachary Mueller (Jr. • Jackson) was the other UW-Oshkosh grappler to earn multiple victories, going 2-2 at 133 pounds.

A total of 32 teams competed, with Lindenwood University posting a meet-high 131 points. UW-La Crosse placed second with 109.5 points, while UW-Parkside finished third with 102.5, University of Indianapolis (Ind.) fourth with 100.5 and the University of Mount Union fifth with 92.5. UW-Oshkosh and Messiah College (Pa.) tied for 16th place with 35 points.

The Titans host their final match of the season when they take on UW-Platteville this Friday (Feb. 4) in Kolf Sports Center.