Kulchytskyy Named WIAC Wrestler Of The Year

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has selected UW-Oshkosh's Nazar Kulchytskyy (So. • Sosnivka, Ukraine) as its 2012 Wrestler of the Year.

Kulchytskyy earned the award after compiling a 45-2 record (17 pins) and winning the 157-pound title at both the WIAC and NCAA Division III championships. He is the first UW-Oshkosh wrestler to collect the league honor.

Kulchytskyy went unbeaten in four matches at the NCAA Division III Championship held March 9-10 in La Crosse. He became UW-Oshkosh's first NCAA Division III champion when he defeated previously unbeaten Orlando Ponce of Augsburg College (Minn.), 10-9, in the title bout.

At the WIAC Championship held Feb. 26 in Whitewater, Kulchytskyy became UW-Oshkosh's first league champion since 2001 when he ousted Ben Strobel of UW-Stevens Point, 22-9, in the first-place match.

Kulchytskyy, who had a 34-match winning streak snapped by Ponce in January, helped UW-Oshkosh finish fourth at the WIAC and 14th at the NCAA Division III championships. The Titans' national finish was their best since 1982.