February 29 – The No. 15 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team finished third out of 15 teams over the weekend at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional Championship at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.

Seniors Hazen Rice, Ryder Sigler, Mike Tortorice and sophomore Jaritt Shinhoster each punched tickets to the NCAA Championship, which is slated for March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Tortorice, ranked No. 2 in the nation by D3wrestle.com and Intermat, took home his second straight Upper Midwest Regional title at 125 pounds. He completed his weekend with a 3-0 record, including two pins and one technical fall, to qualify for his third straight national tournament.

Rice, now a two-time national qualifier at 141, clinched his NCAA berth with a 4-0 decision over Ryan Fleck of Chicago in the semifinal, setting up a showdown against fellow consensus top-10 wrestler David Flynn of Augsburg. The two went to overtime before Flynn earned the sudden victory, 4-2.

Sigler also finished as runner-up to pick up his first national bid at 165. He earned a 15-6 major decision in his semifinal against two-time defending national champion and consensus top-five wrestler Lucas Jeske of Augsburg. He was edged on a 3-1 decision in the title bout against Mitchell Hertel of UW-La Crosse.

Shinhoster claimed his second bid to the NCAA Championship as runner-up at 174. The nation’s consensus No. 2 wrestler registered one pin and two major decisions on his way to the final, where he was topped by Augsburg’s Solomon Nielsen, a consensus top-10 wrestler.

Senior Devin Tortorice finished his standout career with a fifth-place finish at 149 pounds, completing his weekend with a 3-2 record. He earned a 9-2 decision in the fifth-place match against Kellen Schauer of Concordia Moorhead.

Senior Nick Sundberg and sophomore Dylan Uzumecki finished sixth at 197 and 285 pounds, respectively. Freshman Jake Burford placed seventh at 157 pounds.

125:

Mike Tortorice

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: d. Jack Marley (UW-Eau Claire) by technical fall, 16-0 (3:00)

Semifinal: d. Justin Stauffacher (Augsburg) by fall, 2:17

Final: d. Cole Kubesh (Concordia Moorhead) by fall, 2:45

133:

Josiah Lynden

First Round: lost to Matt Berlin (UW-Stevens Point) by technical fall, 18-3 (6:33)

Consolation: lost to Gabe Rodriguez (Concordia Wisconsin) by decision, 8-4

141:

Hazen Rice

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: d. Cade Lundeen (Concordia Moorhead) by decision, 8-1

Semifinal: d. Ryan Fleck (Chicago) by decision, 4-0

Final: lost to David Flynn (Augsburg) by decision, 4-2 (SV-1)

149:

Devin Tortorice

First Round: d. Brandon Hertz (Pacific) by technical fall, 18-3 (3:43)

Quarterfinal: d. Grant Morrison (Chicago) by decision, 8-4

Semifinal: lost to Jimmy McAuliffe (Elmhurst) by decision, 6-4

Consolation: lost to Jake Drexler (UW-Eau Claire) by decision, 2-1

Fifth Place: d. Kellen Schauer (Concordia Moorhead) by decision, 9-2

157:

Jake Burford

First Round: lost to Tyler Bents (Concordia Moorhead) by decision, 4-2

Consolation: d. Caele Manley (Wheaton) by fall, 2:03

Consolation: lost to Tristan Massie (UW-Eau Claire) by fall, 3:45

Seventh Place: d. Brandon Peckham (UW-Stevens Point) by decision, 7-4

165:

Ryder Sigler

First Round: d. Samuel Cortez (Pacific) by fall, 4:10

Quarterfinal: d. Jordan Weinzetl (UW-Stevens Point) by fall, 6:52

Semifinal: d. Lucas Jeske (Augsburg) by major decision, 15-6

Final: lost to Mitchell Hertel (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 3-1

174:

Jaritt Shinhoster

First Round: d. Josh Te Stroete (Concordia Wisconsin) by fall, 0:43

Quarterfinal: d. Hunter Harrison (Wheaton) by major decision, 11-0

Semifinal: d. Connor Williams (UW-La Crosse) by major decision, 10-0

Final: lost to Solomon Nielsen (Augsburg) by major decision, 11-3

184:

Ryan Vedner

Preliminary: d. Ayden Friese (Concordia Moorhead) by decision, 6-2

First Round: d. Jacob Scherber (St. John’s) by major decision, 13-4

Quarterfinal: lost to Ben Sarasin (Chicago) by decision, 7-1

Consolation: lost to Merrick O’Donnell (Concordia Wisconsin) by decision, 9-4

197:

Nick Sundberg

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: lost to Colten Cashmore (UW-Oshkosh) by decision, 4-3

Consolation: d. Charles Hindley (Concordia Wisconsin) by fall, 1:45

Consolation: d. Max Schmitz (UW-Platteville) by major decision, 9-1

Consolation: lost to Gabriel Zierden (Concordia Moorhead) by major decision, 14-2

Fifth Place: lost to James Huntley (UW-Eau Claire) by decision, 7-6 (TB-1)

285:

Dylan Uzumecki

First Round: d. Isiah Shultz (Concordia Wisconsin) by decision, 2-0

Quarterfinal: lost to Jordan Lemcke (UW-Oshkosh) by decision, 3-1

Consolation: d. Adam Gusky (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 3-1 (SV-1)

Consolation: d. Grant Miller (Wheaton) by decision, 4-2 (SV-2)

Consolation: lost to Cole Fibranz (Chicago) by fall, 5:00

Fifth Place: lost to Tyler Kim (Augsburg) by fall, 3:34