The 2016-17 wrestling season begins in earnest Sunday as 14 Wisconsin wrestlers compete at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic in Troy, New York.
Head coach Barry Davis released his preliminary lineup for the event on Wednesday. Projected competitors for the event include:
125: Jens Lantz, Michael Cullen
133: Eli Stickley
141: Luke Rowh, Cole Martin
149: Andrew Crone
157: Rylan Lubeck, Izeac Quintinella
174: Ryan Christenson
184: Hunter Ritter
197: Ricky Robertson, Mason Reinhardt, and Eric Peissig
285: Connor Medbery
Second-ranked Isaac Jordan (165 pounds) will not be competing. Nor will TJ Ruschell, last year’s starter at 157. Ruschell had ACL surgery this summer and is still on the mend. UW officials anticipate he will return to the mat soon.
The tournament will feature wrestlers from Minnesota, Ohio State, Arizona State, Lehigh, NC State, Oklahoma, Ohio State and a host of others.
Eight to compete at Iowa State
Davis also added that eight UW wrestlers will take part in Sunday’s Harold Nichols Open at Iowa State.
Those grapplers include:
141: JJ McClelland, Patrick Spray (unattached)
149: Zander Wick (unattached)
157: Evan Wick (unattached)
165: Jacob Covaciu (unattached)
174: Jake Stilling, Santonio Cathery
285: Ben Stone
Badgers add to 2017 recruiting class
Five high school standouts officially signed their National Letters of Intent this week, bolstering Wisconsin’s 2017 recruiting class.
Trent Hillger (Holly, Mich./Lake Fenton) stands as the crown jewel of this group. The heavyweight is a two-time state champion and is currently the top-ranked senior big man in the country according to FloWrestling.
Three of the latest recruits to sign, Devin Bahr (West Salem), Garrett Model (Stoughton) and Jackson Hemauer (DeForest) hail from the state of Wisconsin.
Bahr is a two-time state champion, while Model and Hemauer won their first state titles last season. Both Bahr and Model will likely compete at the middle weights to begin their college careers, while Hemauer should land somewhere around 197.
Paul Konrath of Mount Vernon, Ind. also formally committed to the Badgers. He currently wrestles at 132 pounds.
Medbery named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week
Following his win over No.2 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) in last week’s NWCA All-Star Classic, third-ranked Medbery was named the first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week of the season on Tuesday.
He is the first UW wrestler to earn Wrestler of the Week recognition since Isaac Jordan earned the honor back on December 16, 2014.
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