The University of Wisconsin La Crosse wrestling team hosted the Wisconsin Showcase to begin their season on Friday, Nov. 2. The Wisconsin Showcase was held in Mitchell Hall and hosted teams from every division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The UWL Eagles are ranked third in the National Preseason Poll, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Ranked one place behind the Eagles in fourth is Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (WIAC) rival UW-Eau Claire.
Quintin Wolbert is ranked 12th in the nation at 125-pounds and began the Showcase for the Eagles by defeating Jayson Stevens in 2 minutes and 42 seconds (2:42) to claim a victory.
Wyatt Magolski took to the mat next, extending UWL’s lead to 9-0. Magolski claimed victory in the 133-pound weight class over Eli Sneed by decision (13-8). The Eagles were then defeated in the next two matches, narrowing UWL’s lead down to three points and making the score 9-6.
The Eagles’ next win came in the 157-pound weight class, when Tanner Gerber defeated AJ Parrish with a technical fall (17-1). Gerber’s win was followed by a victory by decision (9-7) from Tyler Goebel at 165-pounds. Goebel is ranked second in the nation according to the NWCA Poll.
Eddie Simes continued the streak of victories for the Eagles and extended UWL’s lead to 21-6. Simes’ victory came by major decision (11-3) over Dawson Dejong in the 174-pound weight class.
At 184-pounds, UWL’s twelfth-ranked Marcus Olandoni was defeated by Cornell’s eighth-ranked Cael McLaren by decision (4-3). The loss cut the Eagles’ lead down to 12 points, for a score of 21-9.
The Eagles won their last two matches of the evening, with Kasey Gish defeating 11th-ranked Treyten Steffen in the 197-pound weight class. Gish’s victory came by a 19-13 decision. UWL’s Michael Douglas is first ranked in the 285-pound weight class, and took his first victory of the season by fall over Jackson Brinker (2:21).
The Eagles scored a total of 30 points in the match, only giving up 9 points to the Cornell Rams. UWL recently took on the RCTC Yellow Jacket Open on Nov. 2, and will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Luther College (Iowa) Open at 9 a.m.
