By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team shutout UW-Platteville 45-0 Thursday evening. The Warhawks are ranked eleventh in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III dual meet poll.
Jalen Dunson set the bar high with a fall in the opening bout of the dual. Dunson, ranked eighth nationally at 125 pounds, pinned Jack Sullivan in just 30 seconds to give UWW a quick 6-0 lead.
John Fortugno took to the mat at 133 pounds. He registered a quick takedown and rode out his opponent, Chris Karbash, through the first. The bout was close heading into the third with Fortugno leading 3-1. The Warhawk opted for bottom position and quickly got to his feet breaking the hold for escape points to take a 4-1 lead. Karbash was able to tally a takedown and quickly let Fortugno up for the escape as the Warhawks had sealed the riding time point. Fortungo sealed the bout with a takedown in the final 15 seconds of the bout for a 9-5 decision.
Ethan Pogorzelski added a second tally to the fall column for UW-Whitewater on the evening. The 141-pounder had built a 7-1 advantage when he fended off a shot by Trent Dumont and turned it into three. He improved position to get back points before Dumont was able to turn back to his stomach. Pogorzelski changed his tactic, getting Dumont back to his back and scooping his head for the fall in 4:40. After three weight classes, UWW held a 15-0 lead.
UW-Whitewater tallied a pair of consecutive major decisions at 149 and 157 pounds to increase the gap to 23-0 in the dual. Lucio Morgan pushed the pace in the second and third periods to top Carter Kruckeberg 16-5. Leading 6-2 after two, Morgan opted for the bottom position and was up and out in 15 seconds. He turned defense into offense countering a shot with a takedown. Going for the extra point win, Morgan let Kruckeberg up and went right back for a double leg and three more. After the escape, Morgan overpowered his opponent for another takedown and quickly let Kruckeberg up. He nearly registered a final takedown that would have given Morgan technical fall points, but his shot had both wrestlers landing out of bounds and stopped the action with just one second left in the bout.
Jermaine Butler opened the scoring at 157 pounds. After a restart in the first, Butler improved his position to grab back points with a four-point nearfall. With Butler in the top position to start the second period, UW-Platteville’s David Cushman had a nifty reversal to grab two points, but Butler quickly escaped to push the lead to 8-3. Cushman went with an optional start to open the third handing Butler an escape point. Late in the period, Butler grabbed a single leg and turned it into a takedown adding riding time for a 13-3 major decision.
Fall number three for the Warhawks came by way of Caden Kirchner at 165 pounds. The Warhawk got a quick takedown before the bout was stalled twice for medical reasons. Upon the restart, Kirchner got right back to work with a three-point nearfall before locking in the cradle and pinning Cole Smith in 2:30.
Ryan Riser, ranked sixth at 174 pounds, had the tightest bout on the evening but picked up a 7-6 decision over Ryan Pothoof. Riser picked up three points on a takedown in the first ten seconds of the bout. Less than a minute to go in the period, he added a second takedown with Pothoof tallying a last second escape to make it 6-2. Leading 7-3 after an early escape in the third, Riser shot for a single leg, but Pothoof battled to turn it into a takedown for the Pioneers. Riser fought off any extra points to hold on for the 7-6 decision.
The 184-pound bout was one of the most exciting on the night. From the opening whistle there was no shortage of action between UWW’s Gavin Kohel and UWP’s Marty Koenig. There was a flurry of action in the first, but no points awarded. Kohel took the down position, escaped quickly and immediately got on the defense as Koenig pushed the pace. Kohel countered and got the takedown for a quick four points. Holding a body lock, Kohel had multiple big throws that had the crowd erupting. In the third, Kohel connected on a double leg, but his throw attempt ended with Koenig on top with back points to boot to make it 7-4, UWW. Koenig opted for neutral on a restart after the wrestlers went out of bounds and Kohel added riding time to claim a 9-4 decision.
Jordan Lewis got on the board against Cal Ries. The 197-pounder showcased great mat awareness with an early shot near the edge of the mat. Lewis was patient pulling Ries back in and improving position until he was awarded takedown points. Ries eventually escaped to make it 3-1 after one period. Following an escape to open the second, Lewis registered a similar takedown to extend his advantage to 7-1 with one period to go. Ries opted for bottom position with Lewis holding on to seal riding time. Ries escaped and Lewis tallied one more takedown late to grab the extra point win with an 11-2 major decision.
Cadin Koeppel put the finishing touches on a phenomenal senior night in Kachel Gym. At 285 pounds, Koeppel had a great finish on a double leg for a takedown in the first. He got control of Dylan Warren’s wrist and pinned it to his back eventually turning the Pioneer for back points to take a 7-0 lead. Koeppel chose the bottom position and quickly registered a reversal for two more. He went back to wrist control, once against pinning it to Warren’s back and this time the turn ended in a fall as Koeppel picked up the pin in 3:46.
