Kulchytskyy Claims Second NCAA Wrestling Title

Nazar Kulchytskyy (Jr. • Sosnivka, Ukraine) won his 39th straight match to capture the 165-pound title at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship held Friday and Saturday (March 15-16) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Kulchytskyy went unbeaten in four contests, including a 5-3 victory over The College of New Jersey's John Darling in the championship bout. The win allowed Kulchytskyy to close the season with a 44-1 record (22 pins) and become the first two-time national wrestling champion in school history. Kulchytskyy claimed the 157-pound title at last year's NCAA Division III Championship.

Kulchytskyy advanced to the final with a 7-2 win over Joey Favia of Stevens Institute of Technology (N.Y.). It was the 100th career victory for Kulchytskyy.

Kulchytskyy began his activity with a 5-3 triumph over Garrett Bonde of Luther College (Iowa). He then edged Owen Vernon of Centenary College (N.J.) by a 7-6 score.

Kulchytskyy, who owns a 101-3 career record (46 pins), and Rick DeMaris are the only national wrestling champions in UW-Oshkosh history. DeMarias captured the 158-pound title at the 1975 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Championship.

UW-Oshkosh placed 17th in the team standings with 20 points. The Titans finished 14th at last year's championship with 26 points.

Two-time defending champion Wartburg College (Iowa) scored 103 points to capture its 10th NCAA Division III title. The Knights concluded the tournament with seven All-Americans, including one national champion.

Elmhurst College (Ill.) ranked second in the team standings with 82 points, while UW-Whitewater finished third with 78, UW-La Crosse fourth with 56 and Ithaca College (N.Y.) fifth with 47. A total of 51 teams scored points at this year's championship, including UW-Eau Claire which placed 37th with 10 points and UW-Stevens Point which finished 43rd with five.

UW-Oshkosh was also represented at the meet by Dan Schiferl (Jr. • Stoughton) at 174 pounds. Schiferl placed ninth with a 1-2 record.

Schiferl (21-6, 12 pins) began competition with a 6-2 win over Ben Kramer of Messiah College (Pa.). He then suffered losses of 9-7 to Lou Puca of State University of New York-Cortland and 12-2 to Zach Thomson of Gettysburg College (Pa.). Schiferl owns a career record of 61-34 (25 pins).