The University of Wisconsin Whitewater Wrestling team traveled to Decorah, Iowa Saturday to take part in the Luther Open, sending 15 wrestlers to the open tournament. The Warhawks took the mats against NCAA Division I and II teams in Iowa, coming away with six individual place winners.
Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) and
Justin Fortugno (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) both reached the semi-finals of the Silver 133-pound bracket in Iowa. Mallinder, hot off a quick 1:52 pin in his opening match against JT Williams (Augustana (IL)) and a 10-2 major against Hunter Goodwin (Luther), won his semifinal match against Sam Smith (RCTC) by fall in 2:51. In the finals Mallinder met Division I's Jace Rhodes of Iowa. Dropping the match by a 9-5 decision, Mallinder would take second place in the bracket.
Fortugno, coming off of a dominant 17-2 tech fall win over Christian Diaz (Cornell College) and a fall in 4:10 over Isaac Ayers (Luther), met Jace Rhodes (Iowa) in the semis, losing a narrow match by decision and eventually finishing fourth on the day with a 2-2 record.
Luke Schmerbach (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) reached the semis in the Silver 157-pound bracket after picking up a 6-3 decision over Aiden Brosinski (Platteville) and an 11-3 major against division II opponent Jett Thoreson (Minnesota State). After dropping the semifinal match to Dustin Bohren (Loras), Schmerbach would rebound with a 6-2 decision over Gabriel Smith (Cornell College) to take home third place.
Kade Desormeau placed third in the Silver 184-pound bracket in Iowa. After dropping his opening match of the day Desormeau stormed back through the consolation bracket, earning a pair of falls, to advance to the third-place match where he would take a 6-1 decision over Carter Melton (Eau Claire).
Jalen Dunson (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) took home fourth place in the Silver 125-pound bracket after going 3-2 on the day. Dunson advanced all the way to the semifinal of the bracket, winning his first two matches by decision and tech fall, before falling to the eventual champion. Dunson battled back in his next match taking a 9-4 decision over Jack Reina (Augustana (IL)) to advance to the third-place match, dropping a 3-1 decision to Jayden Rael (Cornell College) and finishing fourth.
Tyler Haydon (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) reached the fifth-place match of the Silver 174-pound bracket after starting the day with a 2-2 record that included two decision wins, one over Warhawk teammate
Evan Danowski (Waterford, Wis./Waterford Union), and another against Peyton Haupt (Nebraska Wesleyan). After dropping a narrow 2-0 decision in the consolation semifinals to Brandt Bombard (Augsburg) Haydon would take sixth place in the bracket.
Josiah Lynden (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) wrestled to a 3-2 record in the Elite 141-pound bracket Saturday. Lynden battled back through the consolation bracket, picking up three consecutive wins over his opponents, including a fall in 4:19 over Caden Schrage (Luther).
UW-Whitewater will next compete at the Concordia University Open in Mequon on Saturday, November 12 before returning to dual action with an away matchup against UW-Plattville Thursday, December 1.
For a list of full individual results, click
HERE:
Warhawk wrestling records at the Luther Open:
Jalen Dunson (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) - 3-2
John Fortugno (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) - 0-2
Justin Fortugno (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) - 2-2
Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) - 3-1
Drew Nash (Lemont, Ill./Lemont Township) - 1-1
Josiah Lynden (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) - 3-2
Ethan Pogorzelski (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) - 1-2
Lucio Morgan (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield) - 2-2
Alex Valenzona (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) - 1-2
Luke Schmerbach (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) - 3-1
Buddy Evangelista (Wheaton, Ill./North) - 0-2
Evan Danowski (Waterford, Wis./Waterford Union) - 0-2
Tyler Haydon (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) - 2-3
Kade Desormeau - 4-1
Jordan Lewis (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove North) - 0-2
