This past weekend the Lawrence wrestling team squared off against a tough opponent in UW-Platteville. There was an exuberant crowd on hand in the heated wrestling room at Alexander Gym.Lawrence was nudged out in points 37 to 9, but not without a hearty effort from each and every wrestler. You could sense the frustration mounting from the outnumbered Lawrence bench as they watched their record slide to 1-6, 0-4 WIAC, but there were several positives to draw from the match.
Wrestling at 285 pounds, junior Jeremy Reider defeated Paul Wochinksi 3-1 in overtime. He proved to be the better of the big men, maneuvering and using wits to stall for the victory. Senior Jack Peters improved his record by defeating Mike Jackowski 7-6 in the 197-pound weight class match. He took the lead in the last period with a perfectly timed attack, shooting the legs for a takedown.
When junior Tony Norton walked into the circle wrestling at 149 pounds, he looked prepared to wrestle his opponent Dillon Pontnack. He was a more aggressive wrestler, controlling the tempo of the match.
Sophomore Sam Laes lost 9-8 in a skillfully wrestled match, moving his record to 15-6.
The rest of the LU wrestlers had a difficult time against the talented UW-Platteville team. Junior wrestler Evan Neuens, who wrestled up in weight (165 pounds) against ranked opponent Carsten Carlsen, is deftly aware of what the team needs.
He commented, “Not to take anything away from those guys — they were good — but it is tough to get wins when people have to wrestle up in weight and you give up three wins by forfeit.” That sums up the meet well, considering that Lawrence had three wins.
The men wrestle at the Wheaton Invitational February 1-2.