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Wrestlers Look for First WIAC
Title Since 1997
Coming off its first undefeated dual meet
season since 1992-93, the UW-Stevens Point wrestling team looks for its
first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship since
1997 at Sunday�s conference meet in Whitewater.
The Pointers will be going into the meet 6-0 for
the season in conference dual meets. Six-time defending conference
champion UW-La Crosse is ranked fourth in the NCAA Division III poll,
while the Pointers are ranked 12th. In their only meeting this season, the
Pointers beat the Eagles 19-17 in Stevens Point on Dec. 9.
UW-La Crosse is chasing the all-time WIAC record
of seven consecutive titles held by UW-Whitewater from 1974-80.
Both junior Cody Koenig
and senior Yan White will be defending their conference titles along with
senior Brady Holtz who came in second in last season�s championship meet
and won the 133-pound title in 2000.
White is 15-2 overall and
ranked second in the nation at 197 pounds. A two-time defending champion,
White was the conference�s Wrestler of the Meet the past two years. Also
ranked second is 174-pounder Koenig, who is 27-2 overall. Koenig will get
a strong challenge from UW-Whitewater�s Jeff Zastrow, who gave Koenig one
of his two losses this season.
At 133 pounds, Holtz is
16-7 for the season and is ranked fifth in the nation. An All-American last
season, Holtz enters the weekend having won 10 of his last 11 matches.
Other strong UW-Stevens Point contenders for conference championships are David Davila, who
is 18-10 at 125 pounds, Joel Burdick, who is 20-11 at 141 pounds and Mike
Hayes, who is 14-9 at heavyweight. Davila was 6-0 in conference duals this
season, while Hayes lost only one of his six conference matches.
Official WIAC Wrestling Championships Website |