Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- University of Wisconsin-Whitewater senior Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) finished as the national runner-up at the 2026 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship Saturday evening. Brayden Peet (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) added a fourth place finish at 165 pounds. 

Mallinder battled against Central's (Iowa) Cade Siebrecht in the title bout. Evenly matched, the stalemate was ended after Siebrecht registered an escape six seconds into the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Mallinder followed suit, also needing just six seconds to get up and out in the third, to tally the escape and tie the bout 1-1. Late in the period, Mallinder nearly connected on a shot that was thwarted by Siebrecht. With just seconds remaining, Mallinder went on the offensive but Siebrecht countered for the takedown to win the bout by 4-1 decision. 

Mallinder is a three-time All-American after finishing sixth in 2024 and fifth a season ago - both at 133 pounds. He is the third Warhawks to earn All-America honors at 149 and secures the top finish for a UWW wrestler in the weight class. 

Peet claimed his second consecutive All-America honor and second straight fourth place finish at the Division III Championships Saturday. The junior battled but narrowly fell to Keegan Demarest (Messiah) in the third place bout at 165 pounds. Peet was unable to overcome a third period takedown despite registering an escape and picking up a point for riding time in the close bout. He is the fifth Warhawk to earn All-America honors in the 165-pound weight class. 

Saturday - First Session Recap
Cedar Rapids, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will be represented by Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) in the national championship bout at 149 pounds this evening. Brayden Peet (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) will battle for bronze in Saturday's evening session. The 2026 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship is hosted by the American Rivers Conference at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

The 149-pound semifinal bout was a thriller between Mallinder and McDaniel's Thomas Monn - the top seed in the weight class. After a scoreless first, Monn chose the down position and quickly tallied the escape. That was the lone point of the second. Mallinder followed suit to open the third and responded in kind with an escape. Neither wrestler was able to register another score to send the bout into sudden victory overtime. A scoreless SV-1 had the pair heading into tiebreakders. Monn selected the down position and picked up the escape about halfway through. Mallinder went on the offensive and tallied the takedown with just three seconds on the clock. In the second tiebreak, Mallinder got up and out on the whistle, but a last second takedown for Monn made it 5-5 on the scoreboard. Mallinder claimed the riding time point to secure his spot in the national title bout. 

Mallinder will take on Cade Siebrecht of Central (Iowa), the sixth seed, for the championship. The final session of the 2026 national championships is set to begin with the Parade of All-Americans at 6:30 this evening. The finals will all take place on a single mat starting at 7 PM. 

The semifinal at 165 pounds saw Peet fall to conference foe Tanner Gerber of UW-La Crosse by major decision. Peet went on to defeat Jack Richardson of Johnson & Wales by 4-3 decision to claim a spot in the third place bout. Peet will battle Messiah's Keegan Demarest for third place this evening in the final session. 

Guaranteed All-America status, Mallinder is now a three-time All-American and becomes the third Warhawk in program history to earn the honor at 149 pounds. Peet claims his second consecutive All-America recognition after finishing fourth last season. He is the fifth All-American at 165 pounds in UWW history. 

Friday Update
Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- The UW-Whitewater wrestling team opened competition in the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships on Friday. Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) and Brayden Peet (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) both went 2-0 on the day to advance onto the second day. 

Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) opened his day in the 149-pound bracket with a high-scoring 11-8 victory over Caleb Olson from Wartburg. Mallinder recorded the takedown just 18 seconds into overtime for the win. Mallinder followed up with a win in the quarterfinal match over Cole Handlovic from Stevens. Mallinder recorded a takedown with a minute left in the third period to ice the match & advance to the second day for the third straight year.

At 157, Brayden Peet (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) won his first match of the day, tallying up enough riding time in the second overtime period to defeat Kaiden Wagner from Lycoming in the second overtime period. Peet kept his tournament going with another riding time win in the quarterfinal match against Cooper Willis from Augsburg. 

UW-Whitewater was represented by three more wrestlers on the first day of competition.

In the 141-pound bracket, Justin Fortugno (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) fell in his first match of the day, but won his first wrestle-back bout with a 5-1 decision over Andrew Schaen from Ursinus. Fortugno fell in his third match of the day with a close 4-2 decision.

At 157, Luke Swan (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) opened his day with a 4-2 decision over Gavin Pascoe from Gettysburg. Swan fell in his second round match, but bounced back with a 16-2 major decision over Ryan Kozdra from Springfield. Swan fell in his second wrestle back match in a close decision in overtime. Jermaine Butler (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) went 0-2 on the day in the two Friday morning matches in the 174-pound bracket.

UW-Whitewater Results
141 - Justin Fortugno (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills)
    Lost to Sean Conway (Chicago), 6-4 DEC
    Defeated Andrew Schaen (Ursinus), 5-1 DEC
    Lost to Skyler Hickman (Wash. & Lee), 4-2 DEC

149 - Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) - National Runner-Up
    Defeated Caleb Olson (Wartburg), 11-8 SV-1
    Defeated Cole Handlovic (Stevens), 9-4 DEC
    Semifinal: Defeated Thomas Monn (McDaniel), 6-5 TB-2
    Championship: Lost to Cade Siebrecht (Central), 4-1 DEC

157 - Luke Swan (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South)
    Defeated Gavin Pascoe (Gettysburg), 4-2 DEC    
    Lost to Charlie Dojan (Wartburg), 17-0 TF 5:26
    Defeated Ryan Kozdra (Springfield), 16-2 MD
    Lost to Colton Weiler (Dubuque), 2-1 DEC SV

165 - Brayden Peet (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) - 4th Place
    Defeated Kaiden Wagner (Lycoming), 2-1 2OT
    Defeated Cooper Willis (Augsburg), 1-0 DEC
    Semifinal: Lost to Tanner Gerber (UW-La Crosse), 10-0 MD
    Defeated Jack Richardson (J&W), 4-3 DEC
    3rd Place: Lost to Keegan Demarest (Messiah), 3-2 DEC

174 - Jermaine Butler (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor)
    Lost to Toren Vandenbush (MSOE), 12-5 DEC
    Lost to Nick Alexander (Augsburg), 3:49 FALL