UW-Oshkosh To Host WIAC Wrestling Championship
UW-Oshkosh will be represented by defending 197-pound champion Beau Yineman and seven other previous place winners at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship (presented by Culver's) that will be held Saturday (Feb. 12) in Kolf Sports Center.
Competition begins at 9 a.m. in UW-Oshkosh's home venue and concludes with the first-, third- and fifth-place matches around 3 p.m. The 67th edition of the league championship will crown 10 individual first-place finishers along with a team champion.
Each of the six competing schools (UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater) is permitted to enter two wrestlers per weight class, with the highest finisher in each category counting toward its team scoring.
UW-La Crosse scored 168 points last year to win its fifth straight WIAC title and league-record 20th overall. The Eagles were followed in the team standings by second-place UW-Eau Claire with 141.5, third-place UW-Oshkosh with 115.5, fourth-place UW-Stevens Point with 101 and fifth-place UW-Platteville with 77.5. UW-Whitewater didn't compete at last year's championship due to COVID-19 protocols.
UW-Whitewater ranks second to UW-La Crosse with 17 conference championships while UW-Stevens Point has eight and UW-Oshkosh one (1982). Former WIAC programs to win league wrestling championships were UW-River Falls (11 titles), UW-Superior (6), UW-Stout (2) and UW-Milwaukee (1).
The WIAC has five of its wrestling programs ranked nationally (Tournament Team) by the National Wrestling Coaches Association – sixth-ranked UW-La Crosse, 11th-ranked UW-Oshkosh, 15th-ranked UW-Eau Claire, 21st-ranked UW-Stevens Point and 24th-ranked UW-Whitewater.
UW-La Crosse had seven individual champions at the 2021 championship while UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point had one apiece.
UW-Oshkosh's Yineman won last year's 197-pound title with a 16-3 victory over UW-La Crosse's Kalyn Jahn in the final. He finished second in the same weight class at the 2019 league championship. Yineman, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, owns a 25-2 season record (12 pins) and a career mark of 64-8 (21 pins).
Other place winners returning for the Titans are Colby McHugh and Luc Valdez at 125 pounds, Denis Murphy at 133, AJ Schoenfuss at 141, Nate Stokhaug at 157, Muzi Sitshela at 174 and Jordan Lemcke at 285.
Lemcke is a three-time place winner who finished third in the 285-pound weight class at the 2019 and 2020 championships and fourth at the league event in 2021. Lemcke has compiled a 19-1 record (9 pins) this season to rank fourth nationally at 285 pounds. He holds a career record of 75-40 (26 pins).
Previous two-time place winners back are Valdez, Murphy, Schoenfuss and Sitshela.
Valdez has an 18-4 record (6 pins) this season after finishing third in the conference at 133 pounds in 2021 and sixth at 125 pounds in 2020 while Murphy possesses a 12-9 record (2 pins) this year after placing third at 125 pounds in 2020 and fourth in 2021.
Schoenfuss owns a 13-11 record (6 pins) this season after listing second in the conference at 125 pounds in both 2019 and 2021 while Sitshela holds a 9-10 record this year after finishing sixth at 157 pounds in both 2019 and 2020.
Also returning as place winners for UW-Oshkosh are Colby McHugh at 125 pounds and Nate Stokhaug at 157.
McHugh has a 0-2 record this year after placing sixth at 133 pounds in 2021 while Stokhaug possesses a 17-9 record (6 pins) this season after finishing fourth at 157 pounds in 2021.
UW-Oshkosh additionally will be represented at the conference championship by Elijah Sanchez (4-2 record, 4 pins this season) at 133 pounds, Matt Joyce (3-4) at 141, Bryce Jankowski (4-2, 3 pins) and Cade Schmitz (3-3, 2 pins) at 149, Isaac Ortegon (7-7, 4 pins) at 157, Preston Morgan (13-6, 6 pins) and Cody Welker (10-9, 2 pins) at 165, Bryant Schaaf (3-7, 1 pin) at 174, Patrick Curran (17-7, 7 pins) and Devin Keast (1-5) at 184 and Matt Hanke (4-2) at 285.
Other returning WIAC champions from a year ago are UW-Eau Claire's Jake Drexler (149 pounds), UW-La Crosse's Nolan Hertel (157) and Tyler Shackle (141), and UW-Stevens Point's Matt Berlin (133).
UW-Oshkosh finished 12-2 in duals this season, including 3-2 in the WIAC.
Qualification for the NCAA Division III Championship will be based on regional competition held Feb. 25-26. All six WIAC teams will compete at the Upper Midwest Regional hosted by UW-Eau Claire. The Division III Championship will be held March 11-12 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.