Wrestling
Athletes of the Week

Week of Feb. 8 - 14
Ben Engelland, Junior (Neenah), 184 pounds of UW-Stevens Point
Engelland completed his undefeated 2009-10 regular season with two victories during the week.  He tallied the only Pointer win against Augsburg College (Minn.) with an 8-1 victory over Brad Baus.  In the regular season finale, Engelland registered his ninth pin of the season at the 2:15 mark against Will Christ of UW-Eau Claire.  Engelland is 27-0 on the season and ranked second in the nation at 184 pounds.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Andy Moore, Senior, 197 pounds, Delafield (Heritage Christian)
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Engelland, Sophomore, 174 pounds, Neenah
UW-Platteville, Jesse Milks, Senior, 157 pounds, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)
UW-Whitewater, David Casper, Senior, 184 pounds, Westby

Week of Feb. 1 - 7
Bobby Dorn, Sophomore (Eagan, Minn.), 149 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Dorn captured the 149-pound title at the 32nd Annual UW-Eau Claire Invitational on Feb. 6.  He went 4-0 overall. Dorn opened with a win by technical fall (15-0) over Matt Conahan of St. John’s University (Minn.). He won by decision (10-3) over Nate Lexvold of Augsburg College (Minn.) in the quarterfinals and advanced to the finals with a win by injury default.  Dorn then defeated UW-Eau Claire’s Andy Johnston by decision (15-13) in the title match.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Andy Johnston, Senior, 149 pounds, St. Cloud, Minn. (Tech)
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Engelland, Sophomore, 174 pounds, Neenah
UW-Platteville, Allen Fish, Freshman, 125 pounds, Leaf River, Ill. (Byron)
UW-Whitewater, Adam Latella, Sophomore, 197 pounds, Rockton, Ill.

Week of Jan. 25 - 31
Mike Schmitz, Sophomore (Stewartville, Minn.), 174 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Schmitz captured the 174-pound title at the Pete Willson Wheaton (Ill.) Invitational on Jan. 29-30 with a 5-0 record. Seeded second in the tournament, Schmitz opened with a win by major decision (12-0) over David Kneisel of the University of Chicago (Ill.) before winning by fall (2:34) over Corey Zuberbier of UW-Platteville to reach the quarterfinals.  He defeated seventh-seed Danial Johnhenry of Heidelberg University (Ohio) by decision (6-1) in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Kyle Kwait of Ohio Northern University by decision (12-7) in the semifinals.  Kwait is ranked second in NCAA Division III.  Schmitz then defeated top-seed Luke Rynish of UW-Parkside by decision (4-3) in the title match.  Rynish is currently ranked seventh in NCAA Division II.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Andy Johnston, Senior, 149 pounds, St. Cloud, Minn. (Tech)
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Engelland, Sophomore, 174 pounds, Neenah
UW-Platteville, Vinny Alber, Sophomore, 165 pounds, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)
UW-Stevens Point, Bret Oswald, Senior, 285 pounds, Antigo
UW-Whitewater, Austin Bautista, Senior, 141 pounds, Des Plaines, Ill. (Maine East)

Week of Jan. 18 - 24
Jordan Schulte, Freshman (Mosinee), 165 pounds of UW-Stevens Point
Schulte compiled a 3-0 during the week.  Against NCAA Division II opponent UW-Parkside, Schulte opened the meet with a 3-2 decision over Matt Gille.  In the Border Brawl hosted by UW-Whitewater on Jan. 23, Schulte defeated George Markou of Trine University (Ind.).  In his second match, Schulte won a close decision over Jack Lewis of Elmhurst College (Ill.) 5-3.  Schulte improved to 15-3 on the season with the three victories.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Albie McKinney, Junior, 125 pounds, Luck
UW-Oshkosh, Zachary Mueller, Sophomore, 125 pounds, Jackson (West Bend East)
UW-Platteville, Vinny Alber, Sophomore, 165 pounds, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)

Week of Jan. 11 - 17
Andy Johnston, Senior (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech), 149 pounds of UW-Eau Claire
Johnston had a good week, winning matches at two dual meets, while taking second at the UW-Oshkosh Don Gable Open on Jan. 17.   He recorded a pair of wins against NCAA Division II opponents from University of Minnesota-Mankato and St. Cloud State University (Minn.).  Both the Mavericks and Huskies are ranked nationally.  At the Don Gable Open, Johnston registered a pin and a decision before falling to UW-Madison’s Shawn Perry 4-3 in the championship match.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Billy Mayer, Freshman, 285 pounds, Eden (Campbellsport)
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Engelland, Sophomore, 174 pounds, Neenah
UW-Whitewater, Kyle Wachholder, Senior, 133 pounds, Salem (Westosha Central)

Week of Jan. 4 - 10
Bebeto Yewah, Sophomore (Lansing, Mich./Sexton), 133 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Yewah went 4-0 at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 9-10.  He won by decision (7-4) over Eric McCann of Delaware Valley College (Pa.) and Kyle Wachholder of UW-Whitewater (11-5) on Jan. 9.  Yewah, ranked number one in NCAA Division III, then won by decision (3-2) over Nick Nothern of Cornell College (Iowa) and technical fall (23-8) over Hieu Pham of Concordia College Moorhead (Minn.) on Jan. 10.  Nothern is currently ranked eighth in the country at 133 pounds and was the national runner-up last season.  Yewah is now 16-1 on the season.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Jose Quintana, Sophomore, 149 pounds, Burnsville, Minn.
UW-Platteville, Allen Fish, Freshman, 125 pounds, Leaf River, Ill. (Byron)
UW-Stevens Point, Jordan Schulte, Freshman, 165 pounds, Mosinee
UW-Whitewater, David Casper, Senior, 184 pounds, Westby

Week of Dec. 14 - Jan. 3
Ben Engelland, Junior (Neenah), 184 pounds of UW-Stevens Point
Engelland became the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the nation at 184 pounds thanks for his four victories at the 2009 Wartburg College (Iowa) Desert Duals in Las Vegas, Nevada.  He started the tournament with a 14-1 major decision over Adam Houser of Grand View College (Iowa).  Engelland then made short work of Jesse Rayworth of the University of Southern Maine with a pin 0:46 into the match.  In the fourth session, Engelland recorded the only UW-Stevens Point victory with a close 6-0 decision over Todd Becker of Wartburg College.  In his final match of the tournament, Engelland record his second pin of the tournament at the 2:47 mark over Curtis Barber of Simpson College (Iowa).  The four wins improved Engelland’s record to 18-0 on the season with six pins.

Also nominated:
UW-La Crosse, Albie McKinney, Junior, 125 pounds, Luck
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Engelland, Sophomore, 174 pounds, Neenah

Week of Dec. 7 - 13
Bebeto Yewah, Sophomore (Lansing, Mich./Sexton), 133 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Yewah earned a win by fall (2:48) over Steven Andrukaitis of Luther College (Iowa) on Dec. 11.  Yewah, ranked fifth in NCAA Division III, defeated top-ranked Mogi Baatar of Saint John’s University (Minn.) by major decision (10-2) on Dec. 12.  He also earned a win over a competitor from Heidelberg University (Ohio) to improve to 12-1 on the season.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Dan Schiferl, Freshman, 157 pounds, Stoughton
UW-Platteville, Vinny Alber, Sophomore, 165 pounds, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)
UW-Stevens Point, Kris Magruder, Junior, 149 pounds, Racine (Case)

Week of Nov. 30 - Dec. 6
Ben Engelland, Junior (Neenah), 184 pounds of UW-Stevens Point
Engelland went 4-0 during the week to improve his overall record to 13-0.  He started out with a 15-1 major decision over UW-Oshkosh’s Aaron Erickson on Dec. 2.  At the UW-La Crosse Holiday Inn Express Duals on Dec. 5, Engelland claimed a 4-0 decision over Derek Skala of NCAA Division II St. Cloud State University (Minn.).  In his toughest match of the season, Engelland prevailed in overtime against No. 2-ranked Gabe Youel of North Central College (Ill.) 2-1.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Andy Johnston, Senior, 149 pounds, St. Cloud, Minn. (Tech)
UW-La Crosse, Bebeto Yewah, Sophomore, 133 pounds, Lansing, Mich. (Sexton)
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Laes, Senior, 184 pounds, Ashwaubenon
UW-Platteville, Brad Zellner, Senior, 197 pounds, Luxemburg (Luxemburg-Casco)
UW-Whitewater, James Zarate, Junior, 285 pounds

Week of Nov. 16 - 22
Dan Laurent, Senior (Mishicot), 285 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Laurent won the 285-pound title in the Gold Division of the Auggie-Brute-Adidas Open on Nov. 21 at Augsburg College (Minn.).  He went 3-0 overall, defeating Michael Bucklin of Wartburg College (Iowa) by decision (6-1) and Nick Creamier of Augsburg (Minn.) by fall (4:14) to advance to the title match.  Laurent then defeated Arron Cramer of Upper Iowa University by fall (2:58) in the championship match. He is now 9-0 on the year.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Engelland, Sophomore 174 pounds, Neenah
UW-Platteville, Vinny Alber, Sophomore, 165 pounds, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)
UW-Stevens Point, Chris Karl, Senior, 174 pounds, Arpin (Auburndale)

Week of Nov. 2 - 15
Cory Ferguson, Junior (Montezuma, Iowa), 165 pounds of UW-La Crosse
Ferguson went 5-0 and captured the 165-pound title at the UW-Stevens Point Pointer Open on Nov. 14.  He won one match by major decision.

Also nominated:
UW-Oshkosh, Sam Engelland, Sophomore, 174 pounds, Neenah
UW-Platteville, Vinny Alber, Sophomore, 165 pounds, Rock City, Ill. (Dakota)
UW-Stevens Point, Ben Engelland, Junior, 184 pounds, Neenah

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