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Wrestlers Send Four to
Nationals and Place Second at WIAC Meet
All three of UW-Stevens Point�s defending All-American wrestlers
will return to the NCAA Division III championships after capturing
individual titles at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
meet Sunday in Whitewater.
Cody Koenig, Yan White and Brady Holtz gave the Pointers three
champions for the second straight year. However, it wasn�t enough to
halt UW-La Crosse�s run as team champion. The Pointers totaled 118
points to finish 20 points behind the Eagles, who tied a WIAC record with
their seventh straight title. UW-Stevens Point has finished second four of
the past five years.
Joining the three individual champions at the national meet will be
141-pound sophomore Joel Burdick, who landed one of six at-large
selections. The Division III championships will be held March 5-6 in
Dubuque, Iowa.
Koenig improved to 28-2 overall and won his second straight WIAC
title at 174 pounds with little difficulty, posting a technical fall over
Greg Goska of Lawrence in the semifinals and then defeating Nick Patenaude
of UW-La Crosse 11-6 in the finals. Koenig is ranked second in the country
and will defend his national championship.
White is now 17-2 overall and won his third straight 197-pound
title by handling Tom Venner of UW-Platteville 4-1 in the semifinals and
then using a first period takedown to beat Nick Campbell of UW-Eau Claire
3-1 in the championship. White won the 2001 national championship and
finished runner-up last year.
Holtz also cruised to his 133-pound title, beating Nick Morphew of
Lawrence 7-2 in the finals. Morphew is now 34-4 for the season and also
lost to Holtz 9-0 during the regular season. Holtz won the 2000 WIAC title
as a freshman and will wrestle at nationals for the third time. He is now
19-7 after beating Paul Lundgren of UW-Eau Claire 15-0 in the first round
and Doug Rozelman of UW-Oshkosh 6-0 in the semifinals.
Burdick was one of three runner-up finishers for the Pointers and
brings a 22-10 record to his first national meet. He lost to Nick Karls of
UW-Whitewater 7-5 in the finals after beating UW-La Crosse�s David Silva
3-1 in the semifinals.
David Davila was the runner-up at 125 pounds, losing to John Rombca
of UW-Whitewater 7-4 in an overtime tiebreaker. He beat second-seeded Josh
Miller of UW-La Crosse 3-2 in the semifinals. Mike Hayes was runner-up at
heavyweight, losing to defending champion Ryan Allen 10-5 after posting a
5-3 win over second-seeded Nate Muckerheide of UW-Oshkosh in the
semifinals.
Official WIAC Wrestling Championships Website |
