STEVENS POINT-The UW-Stevens Point wrestling team knew they had their hands full hosting second-ranked Wartburg tonight at Berg Gym. Wartburg did nothing to disappoint.
The Knights, who feature eight of their 10 wrestlers in the top eight in there respective weight classes, won the first four matches of the night cruising to a 33-6 victory.
The night got started when fourth-ranked Jake Helvey won by decision over Stevens Point junior, Jered Kern (Jr.-Mosinee) 5-0. In the 141-pound match, second-ranked Zack McKray used a series of takedowns and turns to score a 22-6 technical fall over Pointer freshman Kris Magruder (Fr.-Racine/Case).
The Knights continued their winning ways in the 149 and 157-pound matches scoring a pair of major decisions to make the score 16-0 heading into the 165-pound bout.
The Pointers were finally able to get on the board when junior Jake Wozniak (Jr.-Stanley/Stanley-Boyd) scored an 8-4 decision over Adam Weber.
Wartburg responded by winning the next two matches to extend their lead to 24-3.
Next was the feature bout of the night featuring the defending national champion T.J Miller and fourth-ranked Craig Bollig (Sr.-Verona) from Stevens Point. Bollig scored a takedown with 15 seconds remaining to take a 5-3 lead. Bollig was able to ride out Miller to upset the defending champ 5-3. The loss marked the first time Miller has lost to a Division III opponent since the 2005-06 national tournament.
Wartburg closed out the night winning by pin at heavyweight and by decision at 125.
With the loss, the Pointers fall to 4-2 overall. The Pointers will next travel to UW-Oshkosh on November 28. The match is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.
Wartburg 33, UW-Stevens Point 6
125- No. 5 Robert Struthers (W) dec. Jake Calhoun(SP), 5-2
133- No. 4 Jake Helvey (W) dec. Jered Kern (SP), 5-0
141- No. 2 Zack McKray (W) Tech. Fall Kris Magruder (SP), 22-6 (6:24)
149- No. 2 Jacob Haig (W) Maj. Dec. Kyle Mueller (SP), 14-0
157- No. 2 Aaron Wernimont (W) Maj. Dec. Chris Brown (SP), 12-3
165- Jake Wozniak (SP) dec. Adam Weber (W), 8-4
174- Grant Jenkins (W) dec. Dennis Reckelberg (SP), 8-2
184- No. 1 Romeo Djoumessi (W) Tech Fall Mike England (SP), 15-0 (3:17)
197- No. 4 Craig Bollig (SP) dec. No. 1 T.J. Miller (W), 5-3
285- No. 4 Brian Borchers (W) pin Chad Gregory (SP), 2:50