LA CROSSE, Wis. - The Warhawk wrestling team, ranked second in the nation and the top seed in the league tournament, defeated UW-La Crosse 35-9 at Mitchell Hall in La Crosse Saturday to secure their third consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and fifteenth in program history. Head Coach Tim Fader earned WIAC Coach of the Year honors for the first time during his tenure at the helm for UW-Whitewater. 

WIAC Championship Website || Complete Results

UW-W earned the top seed after going 5-0 in conference duals during the regular season to receive a first round bye Saturday. The Warhawks were paired against UW-Stevens Point in a semifinal match-up for their first action of the day. The Pointers topped UW-Platteville 33-12 in their first dual of the day. Whitewater cruised to a 38-9 victory winning eight of the ten weight classes including four by fall. 

UW-Whitewater 38, UW-Stevens Point 9 -- WIAC Semifinal
125 - Zac Denny (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) (UWW) won by decision over Ryan Osse (UWSP), 9-3
133 - Jimmy Nehls (Downers Grove, IL/North) (UWW) won by fall over Lance Fabry (UWSP), 2:37
141 - Jared Kust (UWSP) won by decision over Matt Adcock (Bloomingdale, IL/Lake Park) (UWW), 10-9
149 - Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall) (UWW) won by fall over John Roycraft (UWSP), 5:50
157 - Jamey Simmons (UWSP) won by fall over Connor Fussner (UWW), 6:52
165 - Cedric Gibson (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) (UWW) won by fall over Logan Hermsen (UWSP), 4:21
174 - Jordan Newman (Blaine, MN/St. John's Military Academy) (UWW) won by decision over Andy Borchardt (UWSP), 5-2
184 - Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago) (UWW) won by major decision over Bill Langford (UWSP), 9-0
197 - Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) (UWW) won by major decision over Dustin Wozniak (UWSP), 14-3
285 - Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon) (UWW) won by fall over Jordan Koranda (UWSP), 1:33

UW-La Crosse, the number two seed in the championship, earned their way into the title dual with a 37-8 win over UW-Oshkosh in the other semifinal.

UW-Whitewater topped UW-La Crosse 27-7 when the two teams met earlier this season. Saturday's championship went a similar route with the Warhawks jumping out to a 16-0 lead after four weight classes. Jimmy Nehls (Downers Grove, IL/North) recorded a pin at 133 and Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall) added extra points to the team total with a major decision at 149. La Crosse took the 157 pound bout but Warhawks won the next four classes to seal the win. Cedric Gibson (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) put Whitewater back on track with a pin at 165. Andrew Pettit (Hoffman Estates, IL/Hoffman Estates) notched a 3-1 decision at 174 to seal the dual and the title for the Warhawks. Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago) and Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) put the finishing touches on the championship with back-to-back technical falls at 184 and 197 pounds. 

UW-Whitewater 35, UW-La Crosse 9 -- WIAC Championship
125 - Zac Denny (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) (UWW) won by decision over Ryan Weinmann (UWL), 7-3
133 - Jimmy Nehls (Downers Grove, IL/North) (UWW) won by fall over Martino Balsinger (UWL), 4:00
141 - Matt Adcock (Bloomingdale, IL/Lake Park) (UWW) won by decision over Cody See (UWL), 4-3
149 - Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall) (UWW) won by major decision over Dylan Shaffer (UWL), 14-6
157 - RJ Dilcher (UWL) won by decision over Cam Loomis (River Falls/River Falls) (UWW), 8-4
165 - Cedric Gibson (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) (UWW) won by fall over Sean Huls (UWL), 4:41
174 - Andrew Pettit (Hoffman Estates, IL/Hoffman Estates) (UWW) won by decision over Tyler Schneider (UWL), 3-1
184 - Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago) (UWW) won by technical fall over Alex Friedman (UWL), 16-0 4:58
197 - Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) (UWW) won by technical fall over Alaistar Keys (UWL), 18-2 5:43
285 - Jacob Minske (UWL) won by fall over Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon) (UWW), 2:28

UW-Whitewater is now tied with UW-La Crosse for the most WIAC wrestling titles in program history with 15. Coach Fader earns his fourth career WIAC Coach of the Year honors with the previous three during his time as the head coach of the Eagles (1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02). 

The Warhawks will head to the super regionals hosted by Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. March 1 to compete for positions in the NCAA Division III Championship. UW-W, number two in the NWCA poll, will be led by six individually ranked wrestlers: Nehls (5th--133), Adcock (7th--141), Perkin (9th--149), Gibson (4th--165), Siefert (2nd--197) and Edgren (5th--285). Last season, Whitewater sent the largest contingent to the national championships in school history finishing third, the best finish in the long history of the UW-Whitewater wrestling program in NCAA action. 


Graphic photo courtesy of Matt Stanek, WIAC

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