After the evening rounds of wrestling on the first day at the NCAA Division III national wrestling tournament, UW-Stevens Point hopefuls have put forth the efforts of an entire season into this tournament. The Pointers were previously in 18th place as a team going into this evening's session.
Three of the four wrestlers from Stevens Point were wrestling back in consolation matches. Also junior
Ben Engelland (Neenah/Neenah), who entered the tournament with an undefeated 30-0 record, wrestled in the championship quarterfinals.
The season ended this evening for Pointers
Joe Mileski (Gladstone, MI/Gladstone),
Jordan Schulte (Mosinee, WI/Mosinee), and Christopher Karl. 125 lbs sophomore
Joe Mileski (Gladstone, MI/Gladstone) from UW-Stevens Point, lost a close match to freshman Austin Mogg of Buena Vista, with a final score of 2-5.
Jordan Schulte (Mosinee, WI/Mosinee), who wrestled at 165 lbs for UW-Stevens Point, lost to number one seeded junior Josh Terrell of Dubuque by a score of 8-0.
The Pointers lone senior in the tournament
Chris Karl (Arpin/Auburndale), at 174 lbs, lost 2-5 against season rival Sam Engelland of UW-Oshkosh. Sam is also the younger brother of Karl's fellow Stevens Point teammate
Ben Engelland (Neenah/Neenah).
Ben Engelland (Neenah/Neenah), at 184 lbs, wrestled against senior Josh Wake of Oneonta State in the championship quarterfinals match resulting with a questionable loss for Engelland.
The controversial final score was 6-8, but was immediately protested by UW-Stevens Point coaches because of an uncalled illegal move during the match by Wake which put Engelland unconscious momentarily. Due to stipulation, the end result was crudely upheld, but questions a rule change for the following year.
Engelland then matched up against Nicholas Kraus, a senior from Trine University in the final consolation round of the evening. Engelland posted an 8-6 victory over Kraus, earning himself 2-time All American honors. He will face either Nate Murren of Ursinus or Ben Adams of John Carroll in his first matchup Saturday morning.
-Jake Calhoun, reporting from Cedar Rapids, IA. 3-5-10
