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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team tied for second at the 2023 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships Saturday. Three Warhawks claimed individual titles including Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park), Jake Burford (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) and Jaritt Shinhoster (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Barrington). Dakarai Clay (Madison, Wis./Madison East) added a runner-up finish while Justin Fortugno (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills), Ryan Vedner (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) and Shelby Jones (Dodgeville, Wis./Dodgeville) were third. 

This is the runner-up finish in the last three WIAC Championships UWW has competed in for the Warhawks. UW-Whitewater was also second in 2020 and did not compete in the conference championships in 2021 due to Covid-19. 

Mallinder secured the first individual for the Warhawks Saturday in his first collegiate league championship. Recognizing his phenomenal performance at the championships, Mallinder was named the John Peterson Wrestler of the Meet. He is the 12th Warhawk to earn the award since it began in 1973 and the third representing UWW in the last five seasons.

Competing in the 133-pound weight class, Mallinder was trailing and then was forced into a lengthy delay for medical reasons, but he returned to the mat with a surge of energy. Shortly after the restart, Mallinder got position and pinned last year's runner-up, Tyler Fleetwood of UW-Eau Claire, in 6:21. 

Burford competed in the title bout at 149 pounds for the second consecutive season after finishing as the runner-up in 2022. He took an early lead registering a pair of takedowns in the first period. He added an escape and then an additional point for riding time for the 6-2 victory over La Crosse's Tyler Goebel. Burford has finished among the top three in the three conference championships he has competed in as a Warhawk. 

The favorite at 184 pounds, Shinhoster defended his 2022 title in the weight class handily defeating UW-Eau Claire's Niall Schoenfelder by 22-2 technical fall. Shinhoster is the fourth Warhawk to register at least three individual conference titles with two at 184 pounds and one at 174 pounds from 2020. He joins an elite group of UWW brawlers including three-time champions Austin Bautista (2008-2010, 141 pounds) and Mike Tortorice (2018-20, 125 pounds) and four-time champion Tim Carmin (1979-82, heavyweight). In his last six conference championship bouts, Shinhoster has recorded three falls, two technical falls and a decision en route to a pair of individual titles. 

Clay had a tough bout at 141 pounds. With 57 seconds to go in the second period, the bout was halted for medical reasons for well over five minutes. He faced two more long delays in the match and ended up falling to the 2021 champion in the weight class, Tyler Shackle of UWL, by 6-4 decision. Clay was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team. 

Vedner added third place points to the team total for the second straight year while Jones improved upon his fourth place finish from a season ago. Fortugno captured bronze in his first season competing collegiately. 

Complete Results for UWW Wrestlers:

125 - Jalen Dunson (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) -- 5th Place
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Dunson won by decision 10-8 over Carter Schulz, UWEC
Semifinal: Brandon Murphy, UWL, won by decision 7-5 over Dunson
Cons. Semifinal: Nolan McKittrick, UWP, won by technical fall 16-0 (5:44) over Dunson
5th Place Match: Dunson won by medical forfeit over Klein

125 - Tyler Klein (Hartford, Wis./Hartford Union) -- 6th Place
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Klein won by fall (6:24) over Nolan McKittrick, UWP
Semifinal: Luc Valdez, UWO, won by decision 2-1 over Klein
Cons. Semifinal: Luca Paladino, UWSP, won by decision 13-6 over Klein
5th Place Match: Dunson won by medical forfeit over Klein

133 - Justin Fortugno (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) -- 3rd Place
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Fortugno won by major decision 10-2 over Zachary Weiler, UWL
Semifinal: Tyler Fleetwood, UWEC, won by decision 5-4 over Fortugno
Cons. Semifinal: Fortugno won by decision 10-7 over Blaze Thurber, UWSP
3rd Place Match: Fortugno won by decision 6-3 over Zachary Weiler, UWL

133 - Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) -- CHAMPION
Round 1: Mallinder won by fall (3:30) over Jack Sullivan, UWP
Quarterfinal: Mallinder won by major decision 12-4 over Blaze Thurber, UWSP
Semifinal: Mallinder won by decision 6-1 over Denis Murphy, UWO
Championship: Mallinder won by fall (6:21) over Tyler Fleetwood, UWEC

141 - Dakarai Clay (Madison, Wis./Madison East) -- 2nd Place
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Clay won by major decision 9-1 over Elijah Sanchez, UWO
Semifinal: Clay won by decision 7-1 over Sam Lorenz, UWL
Championship: Tyler Shackle, UWL, won by decision 6-4 over Clay

141 - Ethan Pogorzelski (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) -- 5th Place
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Andrew Kested, UWEC, won in tie breaker-1 2-1 over Pogorzelski
Cons. Round: Pogorzelski won in sudden victory-1 4-2 over Cooper Peterson, UWSP
Cons. Semifinal: Sam Lorez, UWL, won by major decision 10-1 over Pogorzelski
5th Place Match: Pogorzelski won by decision 8-4 over Elijah Sanchez, UWO

149 - Jake Burford (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) -- CHAMPION
Round 1: Burford won by fall (0:43) over Kyler Neuberger, UWP
Quarterfinal: Burford won by major decision 15-2 over Joey Ahern, UWSP
Semifinal: Burford won by decision 10-7 over Parker Kratochvill, UWL
Championship: Burford won by decision 6-2 over Tyler Goebel, UWL

149 - Lucio Morgan (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield)
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Zach Sato, UWEC, won by major decision 10-2 over Morgan
Cons. Round: Kyle Neuberger, UWP, won in sudden victory-1 6-5 over Morgan

157 - Wade Hodges
Round 1: Hodges won by fall (2:18) over Carson Hollis, UWSP
Quarterfinal: Cole Hansen, UWL, won by injury default (4:49) over Hodges
Cons. Round: David Cushman, UWP, won by medical forfeit over Hodges

165 - Ryan Vedner (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) -- 3rd Place
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Vedner won by decision 3-2 over Jonathon Harvey, UWEC
Semifinal: Noah Leisgang, UWL, won in sudden victory-1 3-1 over Vedner
Cons. Semifinal: Vedner won by major decision 8-0 over Nate Stokhaug, UWO
3rd Place Match: Vedner won by decision 6-4 over Tristan Massie, UWEC

174 - Kade DeSormeau (Milton, Wis./Milton)
Round 1: DeSormeau won by decision 3-2 over Ryan Pothoof, UWP
Quarterfinal: Leo Draveling, UWL, won by fall (3:30) over DeSormeau
Cons. Round: Wyatt Simon, UWL, won by decision 4-0 over DeSormeau

174 - Tyler Haydon (River Falls, Wis./River Falls)
Round 1: Nathan Wynsma, UWP, won by technical fall (4:21) over Haydon
Cons. Round: Haydon won in sudden victory-1 3-1 over Josh Heuss, UWSP
Cons. Round: Wyatt Simon, UWL, won by fall (2:58) over Haydon

184 - Jaritt Shinhoster (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Barrington) -- CHAMPION
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Shinhoster won by fall (1:22) over Jack Callen, UWSP
Semifinal: Shinhoster won by technical fall 18-3 (7:00) over Kalyn Jahn, UWL
Championship: Shinhoster won by technical fall 22-4 (6:26) over Niall Schoenfelder, UWEC

197 - Evan Danowski (Waterford, Wis./Waterford Union) -- 4th Place
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Ben Kawczynski, UWL, won by technical fall  18-3 (7:00) over Danowski
Cons. Round: Danowski won by decision 5-3 over Lewis
Cons. Round: Danowski won by decision 5-3 over Alex Witt, UWP
Cons. Semifinal: Danowski won by decision 10-9 over Marcus Orlandoni, UWL
3rd Place Match: Ben Kawczynski, UWL, won by decision 10-5 over Danowski

197 - Jordan Lewis (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove North)
Round 1: Sam Melton, UWEC, won by major decision 13-5 over Lewis
Cons. Round: Danowski won by decision 5-3 over Lewis

285 - Shelby Jones (Dodgeville, Wis./Dodgeville) -- 3rd Place
Round 1: Bye
Quarterfinal: Jones won by decision 2-0 over Guyon Cyprian, UWO
Semifinal: Chase Melton, UWEC, won by decision 3-1 over Jones
Cons. Semifinal: Jones won by decision 4-0 over Ben Gunderson, UWSP
3rd Place Match: Jones won in the ultimate tie breaker 2-2 over Brett Schoenherr, UWP