RELEASED:  Saturday, March 8, 2008

UW-La Crosse Finishes Second at NCAA Wrestling Championship

Cedar Rapids, Iowa--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse finished second at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 7-8.

Wartburg College (Iowa) won the national title with 147 team points to surpass the Eagles’ second-place total of 100 points.  Augsburg College (Minn.) placed third with 87, Coe College (Iowa) fourth with 78 and Delaware Valley College (Pa) fifth with 64.

UW-Stevens Point finished 10th with 33 points, UW-Whitewater 27th with 10.5 and UW-Eau Claire and UW-Platteville tied for 32nd with eight.   A total of 50 schools earned points in the national meet.

This marks the fourth time in the last six seasons the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has placed two teams in the top 10.

UW-La Crosse’s Josh Chelf won the national title at 174 pounds for the second straight year and was named the 2008 Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet.  He earned All-America status for the fourth consecutive season and finished his career with a 153-24 record.

The Eagles’ Dan Laurent claimed the national crown at 285 pounds and became the third individual in school history to win the heavyweight bracket.

WIAC All-Americans:
133--Jordan Kolinski (UW-La Crosse-Fourth)
141--Austin Bautista (UW-Whitewater-Seventh)
149--Matt Mauseth (UW-La Crosse-Sixth)
157--Jesse Milks (UW-Platteville-Sixth)
165--Tim Palmer (UW-La Crosse-Fifth)
174--Josh Chelf (UW-La Crosse-Champion), Eric Bath (UW-Stevens Point-Fifth)
184--Josh Zabel (UW-La Crosse-Fifth)
197--Craig Bollig (UW-Stevens Point-Third), Josh Holforty (UW-Eau Claire-Sixth)
285--Dan Laurent (UW-La Crosse-Champion)