University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will aim for a second consecutive crown at the 2013 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Wrestling Championship at UW-Eau Claire’s McPhee Physical Education Center on Feb. 17.

The Warhawks captured the 13th first-place trophy in program listings a season ago with 108.50 points.  UW-La Crosse placed second with 96 points, UW-Stevens Point third with 70.50, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 66, UW-Eau Claire fifth with 14 and UW-Platteville sixth with nine.

For the first time in the 58-year history of the event, this year’s conference champion will be crowned using a dual-meet format.  The six teams earned seeds based on their performances in the regular-season round robin WIAC schedule.  UW-Whitewater secured the top seed after compiling a 5-0 mark, while UW-La Crosse is second (4-1), UW-Stevens Point third (3-2), UW-Oshkosh fourth (2-3), UW-Platteville fifth (1-4) and UW-Eau Claire sixth (0-5).

The Warhawks are ranked fourth nationally in the National Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll distributed on Jan. 30, while UW-La Crosse is fifth and UW-Stevens Point 10th.

In individual weight class national rankings by D3wrestle.com released on Feb. 5, WIAC representatives include:  UW-La Crosse’s Izzy Balsiger (10th-125 pounds), Billy Mayer (5th-285 pounds), Kevin O’Brien (9th-174 pounds), and Adam Sheley (1st-141 pounds); UW-Oshkosh’s Nazar Kulchytskyy (2nd-165 pounds) and Dan Schiferl (8th-174 pounds); UW-Stevens Point’s Ryan Conat (6th-174 pounds), Jordan Kust (9th-141 pounds), Jordan Schulte (6th-165 pounds), and Dustin Wozniak (5th-197 pounds); and UW-Whitewater’s Anthony Edgren (10th-285 pounds), Jake Fredricksen (5th-141 pounds), and Shane Siefert (8th-197 pounds).

D3wrestle.com also lists 10 contenders and 10 honorable mention selections in each weight class.  The WIAC has six student-athletes who are contenders and three honorable mentions.

Qualification for the NCAA Division III Championship will be based on regional competition held March 2.  UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Platteville will compete in a regional hosted by Augsburg College (Minn.), while UW-La Crosse, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater will travel to Elmhurst College (Ill.).  The national championship will be held March 15-16 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.