Photos courtesy of Jordyn Berg
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team sits in 4th place out of 18 teams after the first day of competition at the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional. Eight Pioneers advance to the final day of competition in hopes of securing a top-three finish in order to advance to the National Championships.
Pioneers advancing to Saturday's competition
125 – Isaac Wiegel
133 – Zach Thompson
141 – Zach Licht
149 – Brock Parker
165 – Alexander Strueder
174 – Nick Dado
197 – Tyler Hannah
285 – Brett Schoenherr
Wiegel pinned his first opponent in 2:56 and advanced to the semifinals after a 2-0 decision.
Thompson outscored his opponents 25-7 in day one and won by technical fall (18-0) in 3:00 and then by a 14-7 decision to advance to the semifinal.
Licht won his first bout by technical fall (21-3, 4:09) but fell by a 15-8 decision in the second round and will look to wrestle back for a third-place finish on Saturday.
Parker banked two wins Friday to advance to the semifinals. The Pioneer defeated his first opponent by an 18-5 major decision and followed that with a 6-1 decision to close out the day.
Strueder will look to wrestle for third on Saturday after a first round 10-1 major decision preceded a technical fall (17-0, 6:37) loss in the second round. The Pioneer finished the day strong with a first period pin (1:24).
Dado's solid day started by pinning the first opponent (3:51) and then advancing to the semifinals with a 10-3 decision.
Hannah shutout his first opponent 6-0 and then held on to advance to the day two semifinal with a 3-1 overtime victory.
Schoenherr pinned his first opponent (6:05) but dropped the next bout by an 8-0 major decision to move him to the opposite side of the bracket. The Pioneer finished day one strong with a 10-2 major decision victory and will look to advance to Saturday's third-place match.
"Great day one! Not finished yet!" said head coach Trevor Kittleson.
Day two of the regional will start at 10 a.m.
