Lemcke Wins NCAA Regional Title, Qualifies For Nationals
UW-Oshkosh junior Jordan Lemcke earned his first trip to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship by winning the 285-pound title at the Upper Midwest Regional held Friday and Saturday (Feb. 28-29) in Minneapolis, Minn.
Lemcke won all four of his matches during the regional, including a 3-1 tie-breaking decision over UW-Eau Claire's Noah Carter in the championship match. Lemcke, who defeated Carter for third place at the WIAC Championship held Feb. 14, was a fifth-place finisher (3-2 record) in the 285-pound weight class at last year's Upper Midwest Regional.
Lemcke advanced to this year's regional final with a 15-0 (7:00) victory over Roberto Pena of Elmhurst College (Ill.), a 3-1 triumph over Dylan Uzumecki of UW-Whitewater and a pin of UW-Platteville's Lucius Rinehart in 5:22. Rinehart recently finished first and Uzumecki second at the WIAC Championship.
Lemcke takes a 22-7 (5 pins) record into the Division III Championship that will be held March 13-14 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Lemcke owns a 52-35 career record (16 pins) after compiling season records of 25-14 (10 pins) in 2019 and 5-14 (1 pin) in 2018.
UW-Oshkosh senior Colten Cashmore finished fourth in the 197-pound weight class at the Upper Midwest Regional to just miss out at earning a berth into the Division III Championship. The top three finishers in each of the 10 Upper Midwest Regional weight classes qualified for this year's national meet.
Cashmore registered a 4-2 regional record, including a 6-0 loss to Gabriel Zierden of Concordia College (Minn.) in their third-place bout.
Cashmore opened with a pin of Elmhurst College's Victor Vargas in 2:36 and a 4-3 victory over UW-Whitewater's Nick Sundberg before losing a 4-3 result to defending champion Lance Benick of Augsburg University (Minn.). Cashmore rebounded from his loss and advanced to the third-place contest with a 6-3 win over UW-Eau Claire's James Huntley.
Cashmore concluded his 2020 season with a 33-14 (5 pins) record and career with a 96-46 (16 pins) mark. He previously finished seventh in the 184-pound weight class at the 2019 Upper Midwest Regional and sixth in 2018.
UW-Oshkosh was also represented at the Upper Midwest Regional by Denis Murphy (0-2 record) at 125 pounds, AJ Schoenfuss (1-2, 1 pin) at 133, Eli Mondrella (0-2) at 141, Brandon Lenczner (2-2) at 149, Muzi Sitshela (0-2) at 157, Devin Keast (1-2, 1 pin) at 165, Will Dixon (1-2) at 174 and John DePersia (0-2) at 184. The lone wins by Schoenfuss and Keast were by fall.
Defending champion Augsburg University (Minn.) won the 17-team Upper Midwest Regional with 196.5 team points. The 13-time national champion Auggies were followed by second-place UW-La Crosse with 157.5 points, third-place UW-Whitewater with 116, fourth-place UW-Eau Claire with 100 and fifth-place University of Chicago (Ill.) with 85.
UW-Oshkosh, which placed sixth at the 2019 regional with 81 points, finished 11th in this year's team standings with 44.
UW-Oshkosh and its WIAC colleagues will send 14 wrestlers to this year's NCAA Championship, including regional champions Mike Tortorice from UW-Whitewater at 125 pounds; Matt Berlin from UW-Stevens Point at 133; and Grant Zamin at 157, Mitchell Hertel at 165 and Isaac Lahr at 197 from UW-La Crosse. UW-Oshkosh will be represented at the NCAA Division III Championship for the fourth straight year.
Photo courtesy of Taya Nett
2020 NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Wrestling Regional • Host Website
2020 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship • Host Website