Two University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestlers earned All-America honors at the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin Saturday.
Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) registered an escape and a takedown in the second period of his bout against Desmond Diggs (Mount St. Joseph) to win the match by 4-1 decision. In the consolation semifinal, UWW's 133-pounder was upended by Joe Pins (Wartburg), seeded second, for a fall in 1:21. In the battle for fifth, Mallinder fell to Jacob Blair (Delaware Valley) by 4-1 decision to finish sixth.
At 141 pounds,
Ethan Pogorzelski (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) dropped his first bout of Saturday by technical fall, 17-2, to Victor Perlieshi (Johnson & Wales). Pogorzelski finished eighth after falling to Alex Samson (St. John Fisher) in a narrow 4-2 decision.
Friday Recap
Four Warhawk wrestlers opened competition in the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin Friday.
Dominik Mallinder (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) and
Ethan Pogorzelski (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) have secured All-America honors and will return to the mats Saturday.
Jalen Dunson (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) (#5) opened the day for UW-Whitewater with a 5-4 win over Matt Griffin (The College of New Jersey) in a prelim in the 125-pound bracket. In his first bout of the championship round, Dunson fell to James Day (Wabash) by 7-6 decision, but he bounced back with a hard-fought 13-6 win over Akhil Vega (Stevens) in sudden victory. In his final match of the day, Dunson fell to #3 Zac Blasioli (Millikin) by 5-2 decision.
In the 133-pound weight class, #4 Mallinder opened the day with a 4-2 decisions over Danny Haws (Centenary). He dropped a quarterfinal bout to #5 Chase Randall (Coast Guard) by 10-5 decision before taking down league foe #6 Tyler Fleetwood (UW-Eau Claire) in a 4-3 decision. Mallinder will return to the mat Saturday against Desmond Diggs (Mount St. Joseph).
Pogorzelski lost his first bout of the championships in a 16-6 major decision to #2 Josh WIlson (Greensboro). He rebounded with a pair of wins to wrap up Friday including an 8-6 decision over Dylan Phelps (Olivet) and a 12-6 decision over #8 Evan Burge (Wabash). Pogorzelski will face Victor Perlieshi (Johnson & Wales) Saturday.
In the 157-pound weight class,
Jermaine Butler (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) registered the most-lopsided win of the day for the Warhawks with a 15-0 technical fall over Wenchard Pierre-Louis (Ithaca) in a prelim. Butler dropped his first bout in the championship round by a 4-1 decision to #7 Clayton McDonough (Luther). The freshman advanced in the consolation bracket with a 7-2 decision over Thomas West (Baldwin Wallace) before falling to #8 Xavier Howard (McDaniel) in a 15-13 decision.
