2008-09 WIAC Wrestling
Athletes of the Week

Week of Feb. 9 - 15
Chase DeCleene, Senior (Ashwaubenon), 141 pounds of UW-Stevens Point
DeCleene posted two victories during the week to finish the regular season with a record of 24-10 and nine pins.  Against No. 4-ranked Tony Valek of Augsburg College (Minn.) on Feb. 13, DeCleene was victorious with a 9-6 decision.  Against UW-Eau Claire on Feb. 14, he earned a 5-0 decision over Zach Weisenberger.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Joe Pitsch, Freshman, 285 pounds, Oshkosh (North)
UW-Oshkosh, Jason Laplante, Freshman, 285 pounds, New Berlin (West)
UW-Platteville, Carsten Carlsen, Senior, 174 pounds, Madison (East)

Week of Feb. 2 - 8
Jake Wozniak, Senior (Stanley/Stanley-Boyd), 165 pounds of UW-Stevens Point
Wozniak started the week with a major decision, 15-5, over Cedric Gibson of UW-Whitewater on Feb. 4.  At the UW-Eau Claire Invitational on Feb. 7, he tallied a first-place finish in the 165-pound bracket with a 6-4 win over Orlando Ponce of Augsburg College (Minn.).  Wozniak began the meet by upending Gibson again with a 7-3 decision and then pinning UW-Eau Claire’s Will Christ in 1:10.  He advanced to the finals with a 19-9 major decision over Steve Merth of Itasca Community College (Minn.).

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Josh Holforty, Senior, 197 pounds, Bloomington, Minn. (John F. Kennedy)
UW-La Crosse, Alex Dahl, Sophomore, 141 pounds, Cashton
UW-Oshkosh, Alex Mueller, Sophomore, 141 pounds, Jackson (West Bend East)
UW-Platteville, Carsten Carlsen, Senior, 174 pounds, Madison (East)
UW-Whitewater, Jake Fredrickson, Freshman, 125 pounds, Woodstock, Ill.

Week of Jan. 26 - Feb. 1
Austin Bautista, Junior (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine East), 141 pounds of UW-Whitewater
Bautista went 5-0 at the Pete Willson Invitational in Wheaton, Ill. on Jan. 30-31, en route to a first-place finish at 141 pounds.  He won the title with a 5-2 decision over No. 6-ranked Matt Irwin of NCAA Division II University of Indianapolis.  Bautista also beat Andy Casper of UW-Platteville (14-4), Alberto Quiros of Augustana College (Ill.) (4:15), Alex Dahl of UW-La Crosse (4-1) and Eric Meyer of College of Mt. St. Joseph (Ohio) (3-2).

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Seth Hendricks, Junior, 165 pounds, Beloit (F.J. Turner)
UW-La Crosse, Dan Laurent, Junior, 285 pounds, Mishicot
UW-Oshkosh, Jason Laplante, Freshman, 285 pounds, New Berlin (West)
UW-Platteville, Jesse Milks, Junior, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)

Week of Jan. 19 - 25
Dan Laurent, Junior (Mishicot), 285 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Laurent went 3-0 on the week to improve to 26-5 on the season.  Laurent, ranked No. 7 in the country, defeated No. 4-ranked Andrew Witzel of Augsburg College (Minn.) on Jan. 25.   He opened the week with a win by fall (:41) over Lawrence University’s John Fitzpatrick and by decision (7-2) over UW-Oshkosh's Jason Laplante on Jan. 22.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Andy Miller, Senior, 133 pounds, Appleton (North)
UW-Oshkosh, Carl DeLuca, Freshman, 125 pounds, Wisconsin Rapids (Lincoln)
UW-Stevens Point, Chase DeCleene, Senior, 141 pounds, Ashwaubenon
UW-Whitewater, Karl Voeck, Senior, 197 pounds, Madison (Memorial)

Week of Jan. 12 - 18
Sam Laes, Junior (Green Bay/Ashwaubenon), 184 pounds of Lawrence University
Facing two nationally ranked individuals in three matches, Laes finished second at 184 pounds at the North Central College (Ill.) Invitational on Jan. 17.  He opened with a pin of Calvin Zirkle of Knox College (Ill.) in 1:45 in the quarterfinals and then topped No. 9-ranked Toby Boltz of Wheaton College (Ill.), 3-2, in the semifinals.  Laes dropped a 10-6 decision in the title match to No. 2-ranked Gabe Youel of North Central.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Josh Zabel, Senior, 184 pounds, Rochester, Minn. (Mayo)
UW-Oshkosh, James Dederich, Junior, 165 pounds, Menomonee Falls
UW-Platteville, Jesse Milks, Junior, 157 pounds, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)
UW-Stevens Point, Kris Magruder, Sophomore, 149 pounds, Racine (Case)

Week of Jan. 5 - 11
Sean Pietrzyk, Sophomore (Salina, Kan./South), 184 pounds of UW-Whitewater
Pietrzyk pinned all five opponents in five dual meets at the Budd Whitehill Duals held in Williamsport, Pa. on Jan. 9-10.  He pinned opponents from Thiel College (Pa.), State University of New York-Oswego, York College (Pa.), The College of New Jersey and Ithaca College (N.Y.).  His fall against The College of New Jersey helped UW-Whitewater advance to the finals and was against Greg Osgoodby (2:02), the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the country.  In the championship match, his fall over Ithaca’s Tom Heckman (1:03) opened up a very close meet and propelled the Warhawks to the title.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Andy Johnston, Junior, 149 pounds, St. Cloud, Minn. (Tech)
UW-La Crosse, Josh Zabel, Senior, 184 pounds, Rochester, Minn. (Mayo)
UW-Platteville, Jesse Milks, Junior, 157 pounds, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)

Week of Dec. 15 - Jan. 4
Cory Ferguson, Sophomore (Montezuma, Iowa), 165 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Ferguson went 4-0 at the North/South Duals in Collegeville, Pa, on Jan. 3.  He won one match by fall and two by major decision.  Ferguson won by fall over James Histed of Wilkes University (Pa.) and earned major decisions over Will Brodfeuhrer of Cortland State University (N.Y.) and Arthur Milner of Messiah College (Pa.).  He also won by decision over Justin Barowski of Delaware Valley College (Pa.).

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Jason Laplante, Freshman, 285 pounds, New Berlin (West)
UW-Whitewater, Karl Voeck, Senior, 197 pounds, Madison (Memorial)

Week of Dec. 8 - 14
Jon Schmidt, Junior (Menomonee Falls/Hartford), 285 pounds of UW-Whitewater
Schmidt went 5-0 during the week, including capturing the 285-pound title at the Dick Walker Invitational in Waverly, Iowa.  He opened the week by upending defending national champion and top-ranked Dan Laurent of UW-La Crosse with a 7-3 decision as the Warhawks snapped a 17-match losing streak to the Eagles with a 28-13 victory.  At the Dick Walker Invitational, Schmidt claimed a 13-2 major decision over Mitch Gerold of Augsburg College (Minn.), pinned Andrew Mendoza of North Central College (Ill.) in 5:41 and defeated No. 7-ranked teammate Sean Evans 3-1 and No. 6-ranked John Helgerson of Wartburg College (Iowa) 4-2.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Josh Holforty, Senior, 197 pounds, Bloomington, Minn. (John F. Kennedy)
UW-La Crosse, Josh Zabel, Senior, 184 pounds, Rochester, Minn. (Mayo)
UW-Platteville, Brad Zellner, Junior, 184 pounds, Luxemburg (Luxemburg-Casco)
UW-Stevens Point, Brett Oswald, Junior, 285 pounds, Antigo

Week of Dec. 1 - 7
Max Oldenburg, Sophomore (Burbank, Ill./Reavis), 125 pounds of UW-Whitewater
Oldenburg was named the Outstanding Wrestler and claimed Most-Pins Award at the Little State Tournament in Wabash, Ind.  He compiled a 5-0 at the event enroute to winning the 125-pound title and secured pins over Dino Hawkey of University of South Indiana (4:53), Luke Starnes (2:47) and Bryan Lenig (2:53).  Oldenburg captured the title with a 13-1 major decision over top-seeded PJ Martinez of University of Cumberlands (Ky.).

Also nominated:
Lawrence University, Sam Laes, Senior, 184 pounds, Green Bay (Ashwaubenon)
UW-Eau Claire, Andy Miller, Senior, 133 pounds, Appleton (North)
UW-La Crosse, Matt Mauseth, Sophomore, 149 pounds, Rochester, Minn. (Mayo)
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Engelland, Freshman, 174 pounds, Neenah
UW-Platteville, Cody Weber, Sophomore, 285 pounds, Lodi
UW-Stevens Point, Ben Engelland, Sophomore, 184 pounds, Neenah

Week of Nov. 17 - 23
Ben Engelland, Sophomore (Neenah), 184 pounds of UW-Stevens Point
Engelland went undefeated in the 184-pound weight class as UW-Stevens Point competed in the Olivet College (Mich.) Duals on Nov. 22.  In his first match, he defeated Matt Alexander of Ohio Northern 4-1.  Engelland then won his next two matches by pinning his opponents, first Joe Bargerstock of Olivet and then Chad Craft of Mount Saint Joseph College (Ohio) in 4:49 and 1:15, respectively.  To round out his day, Engelland defeated Andrew Scavuzzo of Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio) with a 9-0 major decision.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Josh Holforty, Senior, 197 pounds, Bloomington, Minn. (John F. Kennedy)
UW-La Crosse, Andy Moore, Junior, 197 pounds, Delafield (Heritage Christian)
UW-Oshkosh, James Dederich, Junior, 165 pounds, Menomonee Falls
UW-Platteville, Brad Zellner, Junior, 184 pounds, Luxemburg (Luxemburg-Casco)
UW-Whitewater, Austin Bautista, Junior, 141 pounds, Des Plaines, Ill. (Maine East)

Week of Nov. 10 - 16
Carsten Carlsen, Senior (Madison/East), 174 pounds of UW-Platteville
Carlsen won all four of his matches to claim the 174-pound championship at the Knox College (Ill.) Invitational. He pinned Rend Lake College's Jordan Echols in 4:33, beat Dubuque's Taylor Osborn 16-0, downed UW-Oshkosh's Eli Felts 3-2 and then defeated Dubuque's Evan Brown 3-2 in the championship match.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Andy Miller, Senior, 133 pounds, Appleton (North)
UW-La Crosse, Josh Zabel, Senior, 184 pounds, Rochester, Minn. (Mayo)
UW-Oshkosh, Mike Kratz, Senior, 197 pounds, Oconto Falls

Week of Nov. 3 - 9
Dan Laurent, Junior (Mishicot), 285 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Laurent, the defending NCAA Division III champion at 285 pounds, opened his season winning the title in the Pointer Open Gold Division with a 4-0 record.  After a first round bye, Laurent defeated Mike Delaney (unattached) by fall at 1:51.  He then earned a 6-1 victory over Zak Saevre (Northern Illinois) and 4-0 victory over Jared Carder (Coe College) in the semifinals.  Laurent won the title with an 8-2 decision over Dakota Greenhaw (Northern Illinois).

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Jason Laplante, Freshman, 285 pounds, New Berlin (West)
UW-Platteville, Matt Scott, Freshman, 197 pounds, Monroe
UW-Stevens Point, Ben Engelland, Sophomore, 184 pounds, Neenah

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