The Warhawks will send seven wrestlers to the NCAA Division III Championship, which is scheduled for March 13-14 in Hershey, Pa. The top three placers in each weight class qualified for the national tournament.
Senior Trevor Pruett (West Bend/West Bend East) and junior Matt Adcock (Bloomingdale, IL/Lake Park) claimed individual regional titles at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively.
Senior Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon), juniors Tom Gerszewski (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South), Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) and sophomore Jordan Newman (Blaine, MN/St. John's Military Academy) posted runner-up finishes and will also compete against the nation's best.
Senior Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall) punched the final ticket to nationals at 149 pounds, overcoming a quarterfinal loss by winning four straight matches to place third.
UW-Whitewater finished with 133.5 points to edge third-ranked Wabash, which totaled 116. Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival UW-La Crosse, which entered the weekend ranked fifth, placed third with 113.5.
Pruett, who finished third at the WIAC Championships, earned two straight major decisions to reach the final, including an 11-3 victory over WIAC champion Martino Balsiger of UW-La Crosse. Pruett edged Trine's Brandon Preston in the title bout by a 4-3 overtime decision.
Adcock, ranked eighth by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and seventh by d3wrestle.com, was also dominant en route to the final, earning a technical fall and major decision to set up a rematch of the conference semifinals against UW-La Crosse's Cody See. In the fourth overtime of the final, Adcock avenged the loss and was crowned regional champion with a 4-2 triumph by sudden victory. He will make his second straight NCAA appearance.
At 157, Gerszewski picked up two decisions to set up a showdown against the nation's consensus No. 2 wrestler, Reece Lefever of Wabash. The WIAC champion never led in the final, but earned his first trip to the national tournament.
Newman, ranked fourth by the NWCA and third by d3wrestle.com at 174, sealed his NCAA bid with his second win of the season against No. 7/6 Jamie Jakes of Alma (Mich.). He was forced to default in the final due to injury, but will make his first national appearance.
Siefert, slotted fourth by the NWCA and second by d3wrestle.com at 197, will make his third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and seek his third All-America honor. He dropped a WIAC championship final rematch against UW-La Crosse's Cody See in Saturday's final by an 8-4 decision.
At 285, Edgren, ranked No. 7/8 nationally, downed North Central's Dylan Mahler, ranked 10th by d3wrestle.com, in a 4-2 decision by sudden victory in the semifinals to earn his third trip to the national tournament. In the final, he was edged 2-0 by No. 2/3 Mack Green of Trine (Ind.).
Perkin finished third for the second straight year, topping off his trip through the consolation side of the bracket with a 5-2 decision over No. 6/8 Kasey Einerson of UW-La Crosse. It was Perkin's third victory over Einerson in 2014-15.
Sophomore Zac Denny (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) placed fourth for the second straight year at 125 pounds. Senior Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago), ranked 10th by the NWCA, fell in the semifinals at 184 against No. 1/1 Riley Lefever of Wabash, and placed fifth with a 3-2 record for the day. At 165, freshman Connor Price (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) finished fifth.
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