UW-La Crosse’s Lulloff and UW-River Falls’ Hansberry Earn Academic All-America Honors

RELEASED: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Jason Lulloff and UW-River Falls’ Derek Hansberry have been named to the 2007 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men’s At-Large Team.  Lulloff was a second team selection, while Hansberry claimed third team honors.

The team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA players throughout the country and is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).  It includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

Lulloff, a senior from Kiel, Wis., is majoring in physical education and boasts a 3.84 grade point average.  This year, he was named the WIAC Max Sparger Wrestling Scholar-Athlete and secured the conference championship at 184 pounds before finishing third at the NCAA Division III championship.

Hansberry, a junior from Arvada, Col., is member of the Falcon ice hockey team and maintains a 3.91 grade point average while majoring in business administration with a management emphasis.  He earned AHCA/RBK West All-America Second Team, USCHO.com West All-America Second Team, All-NCHA First Team and All-WIAC First Team honors this year.

Three Named to Men’s Academic All-District At-Large Team

RELEASED:  Thursday, May 24, 2007

Madison, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) student-athletes have been named to the 2007 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Division Men’s At-Large Team.  UW-La Crosse’s Jason Lulloff and UW-River Falls’ Derek Hansberry were first team choices, while the Eagles’ Josh Chelf was a second team pick.

The team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA student-athletes from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota and is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).  It includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

Lulloff, a senior from Kiel, Wis., was an academic all-district second team selection a year ago.  He is majoring in physical education and boasts a 3.84 grade point average.  Lulloff was named the WIAC Max Sparger Wrestling Scholar-Athlete this season and secured the conference championship at 184 pounds before finishing third at the NCAA Division III championship.

Hansberry, a junior from Arvada, Col., is member of the Falcon ice hockey team and maintains a 3.91 grade point average while majoring in business administration with a management emphasis.  He earned AHCA/RBK West All-America Second Team, USCHO.com West All-America Second Team, All-NCHA First Team and All-WIAC First Team honors this year.

Lulloff and Hansberry are now eligible for the Academic All-America team, which will be announced on June 12.

Chelf, a junior from Irma, Wis. (Tomahawk H.S.) carries a 3.48 grade point average and is majoring in exercise and sports science-teaching.  He was named the WIAC Wrestler of the Year this season after securing the national championship and conference title at 174 pounds.

UW-La Crosse’s Chelf Named Wrestler of the Year

RELEASED:  Monday, March 19, 2007

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Josh Chelf has been named the 2007 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Wrestler of the Year in a vote taken by the league coaches.

A junior from Irma, Wis. (Tomahawk H.S.), Chelf compiled a 43-3 record with a team-leading 19 pins and became the first individual in school history to win a NCAA Division III championship at 174 pounds.  He also won the WIAC title for the second consecutive year.

Chelf has compiled a 113-21 career record and is a three-time All-American after placing third a year ago and sixth in 2005.  His 113 wins rank fourth on the school’s all-time list.

He becomes the fifth individual in program history to win the conference’s wrestler of the year honor, joining Russ Peloquin (1999), Jeremy Miller (2000, 2001), Jason Ott (2002) and Ryan Allen (2004, 2005).

Three Teams Earn NWCA All-Academic Honors

RELEASED:  Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Madison, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) wrestling teams have been named to the 2007 NCAA Division III All-Scholar Team by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).

UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater were among the 20 teams recognized by the association.  The Eagles ranked third overall with a team cumulative grade point average of 3.500, while the Warhawks placed 17th with a 3.220 and the Titans finished 20th with a 3.170.   Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) earned the top spot after compiling a 3.580 team mark.

The NWCA also recognized 97 student-athletes individually for their performance in the classroom and 14 WIAC performers received recognition.   Among those honored were UW-Eau Claire’s Lance Valiquette, UW-La Crosse’s Josh Chelf, Scott Dorn, Jake Larsen, Jason Lulloff, Ross Needham, Tim Palmer and Patt Parrillo, UW-Oshkosh’s Kevin Luedtke, UW-Platteville’s Zach Chambers, Ryan Higgins and Ryan Rozek, UW-Stevens Point’s Tyler Wozniak and UW-Whitewater’s Tom Trieloff.

Needham was honored for the fourth consecutive season, while Lulloff was honored for the third time in his career.  Chelf, Parrillo, Higgins and Rozek were named to the team for the second straight year.

UW-La Crosse Finishes Third at NCAA Wrestling Championships

RELEASED:  Saturday, March 3, 2007

Dubuque, Iowa--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse finished third at the 2007 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, which were held at the Five Flags Center on March 2-3.  The national event was hosted by Loras College.

The Eagles totaled 92.50 points to record their third consecutive top-four national finish.   UW-Platteville placed 13th with 25.50 points, UW-Stevens Point finished 20th with 19.50 points, UW-Oshkosh tied for 37th with 4.5 points and UW-Whitewater tied for 44th with two points.  UW-Platteville’s finish was the best since 1998 when they placed 10th.

Augsburg College (Minn.) won its 10th national title with 135.50 points to outdistance Wartburg College (Iowa), which finished second after totaling 99.50 points.   UW-La Crosse was third with 92.50 points, followed by Luther College (Iowa) in fourth with 86 points and The College of New Jersey in fifth with 46.50 points.

UW-La Crosse’s Josh Chelf won the 174-pound title with a 9-0 major decision over Kyle Vanderhyde of Olivet College (Mich.).  Chelf earned his third career All-America plaque at 174 pounds after finishing third last year and sixth in 2005.

The Eagles had five more individuals capture All-America status, including Jason Lulloff, Tim Palmer, Ross Needham, Jordan Kolinski and Jake Larsen.   Lulloff placed third at 184 pounds for the second straight year with a 7-6 decision over Romeo Djoumessi of Wartburg College in the third-place meeting.  Lulloff also earned All-America honors in 2004 with a fourth-place finish.

Palmer finished third at 165 pounds with a 3-2 decision over Shaheim Bradshaw of SUNY-Brockport in the third-place match, while Needham registered a fourth-place finish at 157 pounds after losing 4-1 to Bobby Gingerich of North Central College (Ill.) in the third-place matchup.  Needham placed third at 165 pounds a year ago.

Kolinski placed sixth at 133 pounds after dropping a 4-0 decision to Jacob Helvey of Wartburg College in the fifth-place match.  He finished seventh at 125 pounds at the 2005 championships.

Larsen earned his third consecutive All-America accolade after a sixth-place finish at 149 pounds.   He lost a 9-3 decision to Don Ooton of SUNY-Brockport in the fifth-place match.  Larsen was the defending national champion in the weight class and finished fourth in 2005.

UW-Platteville’s Zach Chambers and Ryan Higgins both earned their first career All-America medal.  Chambers placed fourth at 141 pounds after losing 18-11 to Jared Creason of Coe College (Iowa) in the third-place match, while Higgins earned an eighth-place standing at 149 pounds after a 10-4 defeat to Timothy Bohlman of York College (Pa.).  The Pioneer duo are the first All-Americans for the school since 1991.

UW-Oshkosh’s Adam Dorner became the first Titan to earn All-America honors since 1999 with an eighth-place finish at 174 pounds.  He was upended 5-1 by Treavor LeBlanc of SUNY-Cortland in the seventh-place match.

UW-Stevens Point’s Eric Bath secured a third-place standing at 174 pounds when he pinned Jonathan Dolan of Williams College (Mass.) in 5:19 in the third-place dual.

Additional individuals representing the conference at the national championships were UW-Eau Claire’s Lance Valiquette (165 pounds), UW-La Crosse’s Dan Laurent (285 pounds) and Jim Swanson (197 pounds), UW-Platteville’s Jesse Milks (157 pounds), UW-Stevens Point’s Craig Bollig (184 pounds), Jake Calhoun (125 pounds) and Tyler Wozniak (197 pounds) and UW-Whitewater’s Austin Bautista (141 pounds) and Mike Schmidt (197 pounds).

WIAC All-Americans:
133--Jordan Kolinski (UW-La Crosse-6th)
141--Zach Chambers (UW-Platteville-4th)
149--Jake Larsen (UW-La Crosse-6th), Ryan Higgins (UW-Platteville-8th)
157--Ross Needham (UW-La Crosse-4th)
165--Tim Palmer (UW-La Crosse-3rd)
174--Josh Chelf (UW-La Crosse-champion), Eric Bath (UW-Stevens Point-3rd), Adam Dorner (UW-Oshkosh-8th)
184--Jason Lulloff (UW-La Crosse-3rd)

UW-La Crosse’s Lulloff Named Wrestling Scholar-Athlete

RELEASED:  Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Jason Lulloff has been named the 2007 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Wrestling Scholar-Athlete.

Lulloff, a senior from Kiel, Wis., maintains a 3.84 grade point average and is majoring in physical education with a concentration in adapted physical education.  He was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Divison Men’s At-Large Second Team last season and is a two-time member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA Division III Scholar All-America Team.  Lulloff has also been recognized on the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll the last three years and UW-La Crosse’s Dean’s List numerous semesters.

A three-year team captain, he helped UW-La Crosse win its 10th straight conference championship this by winning the 184-pound title for the second straight year.  Lulloff also claimed the WIAC crown during the 2004 championship.  He has secured All-America honors three times in his career, including third-place finishes in 2003 (174 pounds) and 2006 (184 pounds).

Lulloff was named the NASPE Outstanding Major of the Year earlier this year.  He is a member of UW-La Crosse’s Physical Education Major Club and Adapted Physical Education Club.

He becomes the sixth wrestling student-athlete from UW-La Crosse to win the conference scholar-athlete honor.

Additional nominees for this year’s scholar-athlete award included:  UW-Eau Claire’s Lance Valiquette (Sr., Auburn, Wash.), UW-La Crosse’s Ross Needham (Sr., Marshfield, Wis.), UW-Platteville’s Ryan Rozek (Sr., Plymouth, Wis.) and Lawrence’s John Budi (Sr., Kimberly, Wis.).

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard.  Sparger served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference from July, 1971 - July, 1993.

In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, be in their last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.

# # # # #

Malecek Named Coach of the Year

RELEASED:  Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling head coach Dave Malecek has been named the 2007 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Mertz Mortorelli Coach of the Year, which was determined by voting among the league coaches.

Malecek is in his first season with the Eagles and guided the squad to their 10th straight WIAC championship this year. 

UW-La Crosse compiled a 13-1 dual meet record during the 2007 campaign and will send eight individuals to the NCAA Division III Championships in Dubuque, Iowa on March 2-3.

# # # # #

UW-La Crosse Wins 10th Straight Wrestling Title

RELEASED:  Sunday, February 18, 2007

La Crosse, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse added to its league-record championship streak by winning its 10th straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) wrestling title at the 2007 championships, which were held at UW-La Crosse’s Mitchell Hall on February 18.

The Eagles have now won 11 championships in program history - they also were victorious in 1994 - and totaled 152.50 points en route to this year’s trophy.  UW-Stevens Point finished second for the fifth consecutive season with 114.50 points.  The Pointers were followed by UW-Whitewater in third with 96 points, UW-Eau Claire in fourth with 89.50 points, UW-Platteville in fifth with 76 points, UW-Oshkosh in sixth with 62 points and Lawrence University in seventh with 53.50 points.

UW-La Crosse earned seven of 10 individual titles and was led by Ross Needham, who captured the 157-pound title for the third consecutive year with a narrow 2-1 decision over UW-Platteville’s Jesse Milks.

Jason Lulloff claimed his second straight - and third career - title in the 184-pound division with a 7-1 decision over UW-Stevens Point’s Craig Bollig.  He also won a plaque during the 2004 championship and his three titles are the most in WIAC history at 184 pounds.

Jake Larsen earned his second career 149-pound championship with a 5-1 decision over defending champion Ryan Higgins of UW-Platteville.   Larsen also won the event in 2005 and finished second a year ago.

Also defending his crown from last season was Josh Chelf, who claimed a 12-0 major decision over UW-Ohskosh’s Adam Dorner at 174 pounds.  Chelf finished second in 2005.

Jordan Kolinski earned a 13-1 major decision over UW-Eau Claire’s Andy Miller to secure the 133-pound title, while Tim Palmer was victorious at 165 pounds with an 18-7 major decision over UW-Eau Claire’s Lance Valiquette.

Dan Laurent was the Eagles’ final champion, capturing the 285-pound division with a 13-2 major decision over UW-Whitewater’s Derrick Johnson.

UW-Stevens Point’s Tyler Wozniak was named the John Peterson Wrestler of the Meet after claiming the 197-pound trophy with a 4-0 decision over UW-Whitewater’s Mike Schmidt.

The Pointers’ Jake Calhoun upended defending champion Patt Parrillo of UW-La Crosse with a pin at 1:14 to earn the 125-pound crown.

UW-Platteville’s Zach Chambers secured his second straight 141-pound championship with a tight 6-5 decision over UW-Whitewater’s Austin Bautista.

UW-La Crosse head coach Dave Malecek was voted the Mertz Mortorelli Coach of the Year by the league coaches and the Eagles’ Lulloff was named the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete.

All of the league champions, along with nine at-large qualifiers advance to the NCAA Division III Championships at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa on March 2-3.  Individuals receiving at-large bids based on voting by the conference coaches included: UW-Eau Claire's Lance Valiquette (165 pounds), UW-La Crosse's Jim Swanson (197 pounds), UW-Oshkosh's Adam Dorner (174 pounds), UW-Platteville's Ryan Higgins (149 pounds) and Jesse Milks (157 pounds), UW-Stevens Point's Eric Bath (174 pounds) and Craig Bollig (184 pounds) and UW-Whitewater's Austin Bautista (141 pounds) and Mike Schmidt (197 pounds).

The league also voted on three alternates for the national meet including: UW-Eau Claire's Andy Miller (133 pounds), UW-La Crosse's Mike Rohowetz (141 pounds) and UW-Whitewater's Derrick Johnson (285 pounds).

Team Scores:
1.  UW-La Crosse 152.50
2.  UW-Stevens Point 114.50
3.  UW-Whitewater 96
4.  UW-Eau Claire 89.50
5.  UW-Platteville 76
6.  UW-Oshkosh 62
7.  Lawrence University 53.50

Championship Match Results:
125--Jake Calhoun (STP) pinned Patt Parrillo (LC), 1:14
133--Jordan Kolinski (LC) major dec. Andy Miller (EC), 13-3
141--Zach Chambers (PLT) dec. Austin Bautista (WW), 6-5
149--Jake Larsen (LC) dec. Ryan Higgins (PLT), 5-1
157--Ross Needham (LC) dec. Jesse Milks (PLT), 2-1
165--Tim Palmer (LC) major dec. Lance Valiquette (EC), 18-7
174--Josh Chelf (LC) major dec. Adam Dorner (OSH), 12-0
184--Jason Lulloff (LC) dec. Craig Bollig (STP), 7-1
197--Tyler Wozniak (STP) dec. Mike Schmidt (WW), 4-0
285--Dan Laurent (LC) major dec. Derrick Johnson (WW), 13-2

John Peterson Wrestler of the Meet:  Tyler Wozniak of UW-Stevens Point
Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete:  Jason Lulloff of UW-La Crosse
Mertz Mortorelli Coach of the Year:  Dave Malecek of UW-La Crosse

Malecek Named UW-La Crosse Head Wrestling Coach

RELEASED: Friday, July 7, 2006

La Crosse, Wis.--The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has named Dave Malecek as its head wrestling coach/exercise sports science instructor/recreational sports development specialist.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to be the head coach at UW-La Crosse," says Malecek. "Joe Baker (UW-La Crosse Athletic Director) and the administration have been very supportive throughout the process. I am eager to meet with the team and coaching staff and get everyone on the same page and start working towards our goals."

"I consider UW-La Crosse to be one of the premiere coaching jobs in NCAA Division III," adds Malecek. "My wife, Kayah-bah, and our triplet daughters are excited about moving to the La Crosse area."

Malecek had served as the head assistant coach at Wartburg College (Iowa) since 2000, helping lead the Knights to three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships (2003, 2004, 2006). He was selected the NCAA Division III Assistant Coach of the Year in 2006. Wartburg also won Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) titles every season since his arrival on campus. The Knights had 11 national champions and 47 All-America selections since Malecek begin coaching in 2000. Malecek was also Wartburg's Wrestling Recruiting Coordinator, Summer Wrestling Camp Director and handled the upper weight classes for the Knights.

A four-time NCAA Division I qualifier at Northern Iowa University (1991-94), Malecek earned All-America accolades in 1994 with a fourth-place finish at 177-pounds. He served as the Panthers' team captain in 1993 and 1994 and ranks seventh in career victories at Northern Iowa. Malecek earned his bachelor's (1994) and master's (2005) degrees from Northern Iowa.

He was a participant in the United States' Olympic Wrestling Trials in 1992 and 1996. Malecek was also a two-time state champion at Osage (Iowa) High School.

Malecek spent two years as head coach at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he recorded 31 dual victories. Xavier also had 10 state qualifiers and one state champion under Malecek's guidance.
Along with his coaching responsibilities at Wartburg, Malecek has served as an instructor in the physical education department since 2001. He has also taught at Wright Elementary School in Cedar Rapids (1997-2000) and in the Aurelia, Iowa Schools (1994-96).

UW-La Crosse finished second at the 2006 NCAA Division III Championships, tied for the best finish in school history. The Eagles also won their ninth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) title in 2006.

# # # # #