Stratton Collects WIAC Coach Of The Year Award

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has named UW-Oshkosh's Chris Stratton as its 2012 Mertz Mortorelli Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Stratton earned the award after leading five wrestlers to the finals of the WIAC Championship held Feb. 26 in Whitewater. UW-Oshkosh scored 66 points to finish fourth at the league event for the third time in four years. The Titans entered the meet ranked 17th in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

At the WIAC Championship, Nazar Kulchytskyy (So. • Sosnivka, Ukraine) became UW-Oshkosh's first individual champion in 11 years when he won the 157-pound weight class. The Titans also obtained second-place finishes from Sam Engelland (Sr. • Neenah) at 184 pounds, Zachary Mueller (Sr. • Jackson) at 125, Jose Quintana (Sr. • Burnsville, Minn.) at 149 and Dan Schiferl (So. • Stoughton) at 174. Engelland, Kulchytskyy, Mueller and Schiferl will all represent UW-Oshkosh at the NCAA Division III Championship on March 9-10 in La Crosse.

Stratton guided UW-Oshkosh to a 9-4 dual meet record this season. That mark includes a 25-14 victory over 25th-ranked UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 29 and a 24-12 triumph over 14th-ranked Elmhurst College (Ill.) on Jan. 21. UW-Oshkosh's win over UW-Stevens Point was its first in the series since 1985.

In 2011, Stratton led his first UW-Oshkosh squad to an 8-5 dual meet record and a fourth-place finish at the WIAC Championship. The Titans had two qualifiers and placed 38th at the NCAA Division III Championship.

Stratton was an assistant coach for UW-Oshkosh from 2008-10. He also wrestled for the Titans during the 2004, 2005 and 2007 seasons.

Past WIAC Coach of the Year recipients from UW-Oshkosh were Todd Yde in 1997 and Nick Matiash in 2003.