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Burdick Named Outstanding Wrestler as
Pointers Place Second at WIAC Meet
Joel Burdick was named the meet�s outstanding
wrestler and Cody Koenig won his third straight conference title as each
will make a return trip to the NCAA Division III wrestling championships
after winning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference individual
titles on Sunday in Appleton.
Also, the Pointers had two additional at-large
national qualifiers after Al Stacilauskas finished runner-up at 184 pounds
and Mike Hayes was second at heavyweight. The group helped UW-Stevens
Point place second in the team standings for the third straight year and
fifth time in six years. The Pointers totaled 100.5 points to finish
behind UW-La Crosse, which won its eighth straight title with 142.5
points.
Koenig won the 174-pound weight class and will
make his fourth trip to nationals. Burdick, a junior, won his first
conference title at 141 pounds. The national tournament will be held March
4-5 in Northfield, Minn.
Burdick was an at-large pick last year, but
dethroned defending champion Nick Karls of UW-Whitewater in the semifinals
9-4 before beating Adam Kuchina of UW-La Crosse 3-2 in the title match.
Koenig had three wins in claiming the title and running his season record
to 26-2 overall. He defeated Josh Chelf of UW-La Crosse 5-4 in the finals.
Stacilauskas was runner-up at 184 pounds,
dropping the title match to Ben Dictus of Lawrence 5-3. Hayes lost to the
nation�s top-ranked heavyweight Ryan Allen of UW-La Crosse 8-3 in his
title match and then won a wrestleback over UW-Eau Claire�s Larry Moen 9-4
to finish second.
Stevens Point native Jake Calhoun was one of the
team�s biggest surprises, advancing to the finals as the seventh seed at
133 pounds before losing to Mike Rohowetz of UW-La Crosse 4-2. |
