Team ties for 13th at NCAA championship
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team, led by 184-pound national champion Jordan Newman, tied for 13th at the 2017 NCAA Division III Championships at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse.
The Warhawks finished with 31.5 points, only one-half point shy of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point.
Newman became UW-Whitewater’s first individual national champion in wrestling since 1991 with a pin in 4:03 against fifth-seeded Justin Kreiter of Luther (Iowa).
Newman, the third seed, reached the championship bout with a technical fall against No. 7 Blaise Benderoth of New York University. Newman capped his season with a 24-3 record and his second career All-America honor. He placed eighth at 174 pounds in 2015.
Senior Zac Denny (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem), the No. 3 seed at 125 pounds, also recorded his second career All-America accolade, placing fifth. He finished the final season of his career with a 34-6 mark, tallying a 7-5 decision over No. 5 seed Arnulfo Olea of national champion Wartburg (Iowa) in the fifth-place match.
Senior Joseph Brodman and freshman Devin Tortorice also qualified nationally for the Warhawks at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Both Brodman and Tortorice were eliminated from their respective weight classes on Friday.
UW-Whitewater wrestling has now finished among the nation’s top 25 in each of the last six seasons and eight of the last 10.
