Titans Open Season With Third-Place Finish

UW-Oshkosh opened its 2012-13 wrestling season with a third-place finish at the Lakeland College Invitational held Saturday (Nov. 3) in Sheboygan.

The six-team event was won by UW-Stevens Point with 216.5 points. UW-Whitewater finished second with 182 points, while UW-Oshkosh placed third with 110.5 and Lakeland College fourth with 72.

Nazar Kulchytskyy (Jr. • Sosnivka, Ukraine) was the Titans' lone individual winner. He captured the 165-pound weight class with a 3-0 record, including a 9-5 victory over Jordan Schulte of UW-Stevens Point in the championship bout.

Kulchytskyy, who won the 157-pound title at last year's NCAA Division III Championship, advanced to his match with Schulte by defeating Russell Carey of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, 22-7, and pinning Dan Irwin of UW-Stevens Point in 21 seconds.

UW-Oshkosh received second-place finishes from Parker Peterson (Jr. • Eden) at 125 pounds and James Hawley (So. • Campbellsport) at 285. Both wrestlers went 1-1 in the tournament, with Peterson losing a 12-3 decision to UW-Stevens Point's Lance Fabry and Hawley being pinned in 33 seconds by the Pointers' Jordan Koranda in the championship contests.

Peterson opened his competition with a pin in 4:16 of Lakeland College's Alec Noe, while Hawley began his activity with an 8-2 victory over the Muskies' Jeremy Kroeger.

Taking third place for the Titans was Jay Howarth (So. • Coleman) at 184 pounds. Howarth posted a 3-1 record, including a 13-4 triumph over UW-Stevens Point's Nick Lecher in his third-place match.

Finishing fourth were UW-Oshkosh's Justin Schienebeck (Sr. • Butternut) at 141 pounds, Mason McMullen (Jr. • Milwaukee) at 149 and Tyler Wetenkamp (So. • Manitowoc) at 197.

UW-Oshkosh sends wrestlers to UW-Stevens Point's Pointer Open on Saturday (Nov. 10).