2024 Upper Midwest Region Preview
Friday and Saturday, March 1-2, 2024
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point | Host Site | 2023 Results
Teams (19):
Augsburg, Aurora, Carthage, Chicago, Concordia-Moorhead, Concordia-Wisconsin, Elmhurst, Lakeland, Linfield, MSOE, Pacific, St. John’s, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater, Wheaton
NWCA Ranked Tournament Teams
#2 Augsburg
#3 UW-La Crosse
#7 UW-Eau Claire
#15 UW-Whitewater
#23 Concordia-Moorhead
A pair of returning champs highlight this region. Nolan Hertel of UW-La Crosse won a razor thin overtime match at 157 last year and has backed it up with an undefeated season and a win over the defending DII champ in the NWCA All-Star Match. Sam Stuhl of Augsburg surprised many with his unseeded run to the 141 championship after a 3rd place finish in this region last year. He has taken a few losses but hopes to catch lightning in a bottle again in March. The third returning finalist here is Jared Stricker of UW-Eau Claire at 174. He is 34-2 with both losses coming to DI opponents at the Midlands. He could be on a path to repeat last year’s NCAA finals matchup with Wartburg’s Mulder.
#3 Cooper Willis of Augsburg only has a loss to Iowa’s Caliendo this year, but he does have two regular season wins against the defending DII champ at 165. He is one of six returning 2023 All-Americans for Augsburg. #5 Izzy Balsiger of Eau Claire was last seen in the postseason wrestling for UW-La Crosse in 2013 where he finished 4th at 125. He is 9-2 at age 31 after joining the lineup in January. Four of the weights in this region have three top-ten wrestlers set to enter, making 149, 157, 165, and 197 a tough get for anyone hoping to crash the party in La Crosse.
Top 10 Ranked Individuals | February 22nd Ranking (22 total)
125: #5 Balsiger (Eau Claire)
133: #5 Bisek (Concordia-Moorhead), #7 Mallinder (Whitewater)
141: #7 Stuhl (Augsburg)
149: #3 Stuhl (Augsburg), #4 Goebel (La Crosse), #10 Sato (Eau Claire)
157: #1 Hertel (La Crosse), #5 Jagodzinske (Augsburg), #8 Butler (Whitewater)
165: #3 Willis (Augsburg), #8 Leisgang (La Crosse), #9 Massie (Eau Claire)
174: #2 Stricker (Eau Claire), #3 Goetzinger (Augsburg)
184: #1 Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg), #10 Collins (Eau Claire)
197: #3 Kawczynski (La Crosse), #4 Venz (Augsburg), #9 Zierden (Concordia-Moorhead)
285: #4 Douglas (La Crosse), #5 Kim (Augsburg)
Contenders & H.M. (22 total)
125: Dunson (Whitewater), Wolbert (La Crosse), Kaczrowski (Augsburg)
133: Fleetwood (Eau Claire), Suddeth (Augsburg), Weiler (La Crosse)
141: Lorenz (La Crosse), Pogorzelski (Whitewater), Conway (Chicago)
149: Busse (Whitewater), Connolly (Chicago), Ramos (Concordia Wisconsin)
157: Vlasnik (Chicago)
165: Peet (Whitewater), Estevez (Chicago)
174: Komitas (Aurora), Riser (Whitewater), Trotzer (Stevens Point)
184: Orlandoni (La Crosse)
197: Punzel (Wheaton), Lingen (Chicago)
285: Schichel (Eau Claire)