Preston Morgan and Beau Yineman won both of their bouts as UW-Oshkosh split a pair of wrestling matches against UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point on Friday (Feb. 12) in Stevens Point.
UW-Oshkosh (2-2, 2-2 WIAC) lost a 26-14 decision to UW-Eau Claire (2-2, 2-2) in the opener before bouncing back to rout UW-Stevens Point (1-3, 1-3), 36-7. The Titans defeated UW-Stevens Point for the third straight match and recorded their largest margin of victory over the Pointers in nearly four decades.
Morgan wrestled at 165 pounds against UW-Eau Claire and registered a 14-10 victory over Alfred Daniel. He then competed at 174 pounds against UW-Stevens Point and earned a 7-3 win over Trystan Altensey.
Yineman, who pinned the top-ranked NCAA Division III wrestler (UW-La Crosse's Isaac Lahr) on Tuesday (Feb. 9), completed a perfect 3-0 week at 197 pounds by defeating UW-Eau Claire's James Huntley, 17-1, and sticking UW-Stevens Point's Jerry Lipke to the mat in 5:30.
Other winners against UW-Eau Claire were Luc Valdez at 133 pounds and Cade Schmitz at 141. Valdez edged Thomas Severson, 5-4, while Schmitz ousted Austin Mowery, 6-4.
UW-Eau Claire took a 3-0 lead over UW-Oshkosh on Jack Marley's 8-4 victory over Denis Murphy at 125 pounds.
Following wins by Titans Valdez and Schmitz, UW-Eau Claire took the lead for good (12-6) on Jake Drexler's pin of Wesam Alabed in 1:18 at 149 pounds and Tristan Massie's 7-2 victory over Nate Stokhaug at 157.
Morgan then cut UW-Oshkosh's deficit to 12-9 before UW-Eau Claire opened a 23-9 lead on victories by Evan Lawrence at 174 pounds and Chase Melton at 184. Lawrence pinned Devin Keast in 4:34 while Melton defeated Husam Alabed, 22-2.
Yineman got five team points back for UW-Oshkosh in next bout, but UW-Eau Claire's Mason Hawkins ended the match with his narrow 2-1 decision over Jordan Lemcke at 285 pounds.
Against UW-Stevens Point, UW-Oshkosh trailed 4-3 after two bouts before winning seven of the final eight contests to pull away and mark the convincing victory.
Murphy opened the match by defeating UW-Stevens Point's Blaze Thurber, 9-5, at 125 pounds. The Pointers then tallied four team points in the next bout on Matt Berlin's 17-3 win over Valdez at 133 pounds.
UW-Oshkosh received pins from AJ Schoenfuss at 141 pounds and Stokhaug at 157 in the next three bouts to take a 20-4 lead. Schoenfuss pinned Colin Barker in 1:27 while Stokhaug glued Luke Smiley to the surface in 3:57. Schoenfuss and Stokhaug sandwiched Wesam Alabed's 17-2 win over Mason Wheeler at 149 pounds.
The Pointers scored their final team points right after Stokhaug's pin as Brandon Peckham defeated PJ Ladd, 7-1, at 165 pounds.
It was all UW-Oshkosh in the final four bouts as the Titans increased their 20-7 lead to a 36-7 advantage with 16 straight points.
In addition to the wins from Morgan and Yineman down the stretch, UW-Oshkosh also acquired victories from Husam Alabed at 184 pounds and Lemcke at 285. Alabed defeated Shamus McLain, 10-5, while Lemcke outscored Ben Gunderson, 8-0.
Photo courtesy of Madeline Schuldes, UW-Stevens Point Athletics
