Four University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestlers punched their tickets to the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships after finishing among the top three at the Upper Midwest Regional hosted by UW-Stevens Point Saturday. Jalen Dunson (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) and Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) claimed titles in their weight classes while Ethan Pogorzelski (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) finished as a runner-up and Jermaine Butler (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) took third. 

The 2024 Division III Championships will be held in La Crosse, Wisconsin March 14-16. The complete 2024 championship field will feature 180 participants selected from qualifiers in six regions. The official list of DIII qualifiers will be released Monday, March 4 followed by a bracket release on Tuesday, March 12.

125 - Jalen Dunson (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) - Champion
Dunson added two more wins Saturday to claim the 125-pound crown and wrap up the regional with a perfect 4-0 record. He opened the day with a 13-6 decision over UW-La Crosse's Quinten Wolbert to setup the title bout against another WIAC opponent. In the championship, Dunson dominated the third period against Izzy Balsiger (UWEC) en route to an 8-6 decision for the title. Dunson trailed 4-1 after two periods, but he tallied an escape and a pair of takedowns in the third to comeback for the win. The sophomore will head to the DIII Championships for the first time in his career. 

133 - Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) - Champion
Mallinder successfully defended his 2023 regional title at 133 pounds with a 10-6 decision over Augsburg's Chance Suddeth in the title bout. To claim his spot in the championship match, Mallinder went through UWEC's Tyler Fleetwood, narrowly defeating the conference foe, 7-6. The sophomore heads to the DIII Championships for the second straight season.

141 - Ethan Pogorzelski (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) - Runner-Up
Pogorzelski secured his spot in the 141-pound title bout with a 9-6 decision over Sam Lorenz (UWL) in a semifinal. He dropped the championship match to sixth-ranked Sam Stuhl of Augsburg by 8-0 major decision, but had his ticket to the national championships locked in. 

157 - Jermaine Butler (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) - Third Place
Butler had his work cut out for him Saturday as he opened the day against top-ranked Nolan Hertel (UWL) in semifinal action. The freshman rebounded from a 10-1 major decision loss to secure third place in the weight class. Butler chose the down position heading into the second period and registered the escape. In the third, he added two nearfall points for a 3-0 decision over Chicago's Drew Vlasnik. 

149 - Jalin Conner (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech) - Fourth Place
Conner met a pair of top-three wrestlers in his three bouts Saturday. He fell in a semifinal to second-ranked Tyler Goebel (UWL) by 11-1 major decision in his first match. An injury to his opponent just 1:26 into his next bout had Conner advancing to the third-place match. In that bout, Conner lost by major decision (11-3) to Charlie Stuhl of Augsburg, ranked third in Division III. 

165 - Brayden Peet (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) - Fourth Place
Peet's semifinal was a thriller Saturday. Sixth-ranked Tristan Massie (UWEC) took an early lead with a takedown, but Peet escaped and registered a takedown of his own in the first. By the end of the first period, the score was tied 4-4. The only point of the second was an escape for Massie. Similarly, the brawlers went through the third with just one point scored - an escape for Peet. The lone point in sudden victory was a penalty called in favor of Massie for the 6-5 decision. Peet bounced back with with a 2-0 decision over CUW's Jeremy Pullen, but he fell in the battle for third to third-ranked Cooper Willis of Augsburg (2:43).

174 - Ryan Riser (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) - Fifth Place
Riser went 2-1 Saturday to secure fifth-place at 174 pounds. He opened the day with a 12-0 major decision over Chicago's Tyler Joseph before falling to Aurora's Christian Komitas by 5-3 decision. In the fifth-place bout, Riser notched his third pin of the regional with a fall in 2:47 over Carson Trotzer (UWSP). 

184 - Gavin Kohel (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) - Fourth Place
Kohel won a pair of matches - the first by injury default and the second by 5-3 decision over UWSP's Trystan Altensey - to set up a rematch against UW-Eau Claire's Nlall Schoenfelder. Facing the Blugold for the second time in as many days, Kohel fell just shy of the comeback win in the 5-3 decision. 

285 - Cadin Koeppel (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) - 6th Place
Koeppel went 1-2 Saturday to finish sixth at 285 pounds. The senior opened the day with a 7-2 decision over Concordia Moorhead's Ayden Friese. He dropped his next bout by narrow decision, 4-2, to UWEC's Jackson Schichel to move into the fifth-place match. Chicago's Gunnar Garriques won that battle by 4-0 decision. 

Day One Recap
Six University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestlers have advanced to the semifinals in their respective brackets after the first day of competition in the Upper Midwest Regional hosted by UW-Stevens Point. The NCAA Regional will conclude Saturday.

125 - #9 Jalen Dunson (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) - Advanced to Semifinals
Dunson registered a pair of technical falls to claim his spot in the semifinals at 125 pounds. He topped Elmhurst's Donovin Fields 17-1 stopping the bout at the 3:27 mark to open his day. In the quarterfinal, Dunson defeated Kie Anderson of Concordia Moorhead 17-2 in 4:54. Dunson will face UW-La Crosse's Quinten Wolbert in the semifinal. 

133 - #6 Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) - Advanced to Semifinals
Mallinder also had a quick day on the mats Friday with two technical falls. He needed just 3:41 to take down UWSP's Blaze Thurber 17-2 before topping Wheaton's Anthony Zamora 20-4 in 6:43 in the quarterfinal. Mallinder will meet conference foe #13 Tyler Fleetwood in the semifinal. The pair are well acquainted having met in back-to-back Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title bouts and the regional 133-pound championship last season -- Mallinder has won all three of those title matches. 

141 - Ethan Pogorzelski (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) - Advanced to Semifinals
Pogorzelski added a tally to the technical fall column in his first bout of the day defeating Cooper Peterson (UWSP) 17-1 in 6:04. He punched his ticket to the semis with a 4-1 decision over Carthage's Cole Nelson. Pogorzelski will meet UW-La Crosse's Sam Lorenz with a spot in the 141-pound title bout on the line Saturday. 

149 - Jalin Conner (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech) - Advanced to Semifinals
Conner registered a pair of extra-point victories Friday. He won by technical fall over Maguire Hoeksema (Carthage) 18-2 in 6:02 in his first action of the day. In the quarterfinal, Conner topped Kellen Schauer of Concordia Moorhead by major decision, 11-2. Conner will face UW-La Crosse's Tyler Goebel, ranked second nationally, in a semifinal Saturday. 

157 - #11 Jermaine Butler (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) - Advanced to Semifinals
Butler picked up the first fall of the day for the Warhawks. In his opener against Parker Stroud (Lakeland), he registered the pin in just 1:05 - his fastest of the season. Butler defeated Concordia Moorhead's Tyler Bents by 8-2 decision before taking down Zaren Anderson (Carthage) 4-2 in the quarterfinal. Butler's semifinal bout will be against top-ranked Nolan Hertel of UW-La Crosse. 

165 - #7 Brayden Peet (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) - Advanced to Semifinals
Peet went 3-0 Friday with a pair of technical fall victories. He defeated Blake Delsman (UW-Platteville) 16-1, stopping the clock at the 4:21 mark, in his NCAA Regional debut. In the second round, Peet stacked up the points quickly with a 16-1 technical fall over UW-Oshkosh's Joseph Spizzirri in just 1:10. He defeated Chicago's Darian Estevez by 4-0 decision to set up a meeting with sixth-ranked Tristan Massie of UW-Eau Claire in the semifinal. 

174 - #12 Ryan Riser (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) 
Riser opened the 2024 regional with a fall against Concordia Wisconsin's Ruben Vasquez in 2:36 for his first pin of the season at 174 pounds. He dropped the quarterfinal by 10-4 decision to UWL's Eddie Simes before bouncing back with a pin of Pacific's Francisco Endi in 2:49. Riser will continue competition in the consolation bracket with a bout against Chicago's Tyler Joseph Saturday. 

184 - Gavin Kohel (River Falls, Wis./River Falls)
Kohel opened his day with a 14-9 decision over Wyatt haynes (Chicago). He fell to third-ranked Nlall Schoenfelder (UWEC) in 3:44 but rebounded with an 11-1 major decision over Elmhurst's Colin O'Neill. Kohel will continue competition with a bout against Nathaniel Kisgen (Concordia Moorhead) Saturday. 

197 - Jordan Lewis (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove North) 
Lewis went 1-2 in his first regional action Friday. He dropped a tough first matchup against #11 Gabriel Zierden (Concordia Moorhead) by 9-1 major decision. Lewis came back with a 14-0 major decision over Connor Collins (UWEC) but fell to UWSP's Logan Neitzel by 8-1 decision in his final bout. 

285 - Cadin Koeppel (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove)
Koeppel drew a tough opponent to start the regional - second-ranked Michael Douglas from La Crosse. He fell by 14-4 major decision but responded with a pair of wins to close out Friday. Koeppel registered his 11th pin of the season with a fall in 1:28 over Platteville's Dylan Warren. The senior closed his day with a 4-0 decision over Aurora's Cam'ron Harper. Koeppel will return to the mat Saturday with a match against Ayden Friese (Concordia Moorhead).