2020 WIAC Wrestling Championship Preview

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse looks for a fourth straight first-place finish at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Wrestling Championship (presented by Culver’s). The 65th edition of the league meet will be hosted by UW-La Crosse at Mitchell Hall on Feb. 14.
 
The Eagles captured the 18th title in program archives a season ago, compiling 159 points to surpass UW-Whitewater’s second-place total of 127 points. UW-Stevens Point finished third with 111 points, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 103.50, UW-Eau Claire fifth with 83.50 and UW-Platteville sixth with 75.
 
UW-Whitewater ranks second on the conference all-time list with 17 championships, while UW-Stevens Point has won eight and UW-Oshkosh one. Former programs to win titles include: UW-River Falls (11); UW-Superior (6); UW-Stout (2); and UW-Milwaukee (1).
 
At this year’s championship, 10 individual first-place finishers will be crowned, along with a team champion. Each school will be permitted to enter two wrestlers per weight class and competition will begin at noon.
 
UW-La Crosse enters the event ranked No. 13 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) NCAA Division III Dual Meet Team Rankings distributed on Feb. 10, while UW-Whitewater is 15th, UW-Platteville 22nd and UW-Eau Claire 24th.
 
Returning individual champions from last year include: UW-La Crosse’s Konrad Ernst (285 pounds), Jackson Schoen (165) and Grant Zamin (157); and UW-Whitewater’s Riley Kauzlaric (197), Hazen Rice (141) and Mike Tortorice (125). Ernst and Tortorice also posted first-place finishes at 285 pounds and 125 pounds, respectively in 2018, while Rice was victorious at 133 pounds and Zamin was a runner-up at 157 pounds.
 
Also winning titles at the 2018 championship were UW-La Crosse’s Mitch Hertel (165), Sawyer Massie (174) and Hayden Schlough (141). Massie was tabbed the John Peterson Wrestler of the Meet for his efforts. Ernst was a runner-up at 285 pounds in 2017, while teammate Jackson Schoen took second at 157 pounds.
 
Runner-up performances from a season ago included: UW-La Crosse’s Josh Stenger (133); UW-Oshkosh’s AJ Schoenfuss (125); UW-Platteville’s Lucius Rinehart (285); and UW-Stevens Point’s Matt Berlin (141). Stenger was also a runner-up at 133 pounds in 2018, along with UW-Stevens Point’s Luke Smiley at 149 pounds.
 
Qualification for the NCAA Division III Championship will be based on regional competition held Feb. 28-29. All six WIAC teams will compete in the Upper Midwest Regional hosted by Augsburg University (Minn.). The national championship will be held March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and hosted by the American Rivers Conference.
 

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