Hughes, Kwilinski Finish In Top Six At UW-Eau Claire
EAU CLAIRE -- Alex Hughes (Fr, 125) and Darin Kwilinski (Sr, 174) both finished in the top six of their brackets at the Bluegold Invitational hosted by UW-Eau Claire.
The tournament featured reserve wrestlers from a variety of elite NCAA Division 3 wrestling programs, including UW-La Crosse, Augsburg, and Luther. The other teams at the tournament brought their entire rosters, for the most part.
Hughes and Kwilinski won big matches for the Panthers, but Darin wasn't satisfied.
"I felt I wasn't wrestling my best," said Kwilinski. "I struggled mentally, for whatever reason, all day. It's frustrating to be beating someone and then have a mental break for a second and find yourself going to the other end of the bracket. That being said, I had a few lucky breaks and bounced back to gain a top six status."
Darin was refering to his first match of the day, where he was winning well into the third period before getting flipped onto his back and pinned with less than a minute to go. Kwilinski rebounded with a win, however, and ended up in the top six.
Darin went on to comment about freshman teammate Alex Hughes.
"I was thrilled [to be in the top six], but even more excited for Alex. I think he was the reason I stayed mentally tough. If a freshmen can do it, why can't I? He was definitely an inspiration to watch. His improvement over the season has been a real neat thing to watch."
Head coach Koy Kosek echoed those sentiments.
"Alex secured 8th place for us with his win over Itasca's wrestler, so that was better than we were expected to do as a team here. He is probably the most dedicated wrestler on the team at the moment.
"The team really came out well in the first round of matches, except for Darin's mental lapse in his first match," continued Kosek. "After that first round, we had a couple of matches that I wasn't thrilled with, but overall we gave it a good effort. This team looked three times better than it did at the UW-Oshkosh tournament."
UWEC Invitational Team Scores
1. St. John`s StJ 120.5
2. UW-Stevens Point UWSP 113.0
3. Augsburg Augs 99.5
4. La Crosse UW-L 92.5
5. UW-Eau Claire UWEC 75.0
6. UW-Oshkosh UW-O 69.5
7. Luther Luth 47.0
8. UW-Milwaukee UWM 14.0
9. Itasca cc Ita 10.0
UWEC Invitational Results for UW-Milwaukee
125 - Alex Hughes scored 5.00 team points and 5.50 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Freddie Vigil (Augsburg) won by major decision over Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) (Maj 11-0)
Cons. Round 2 - Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) won by decision over John Gray (Itasca cc) (Dec 10-4)
Cons. Semi - Brandon Page (UW-Eau Claire) won by major decision over Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) (Maj 11-2)
133 - Tom Hansen scored 0.00 team points and -3.50 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Tom Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Paul Bjorkstrand (Augsburg) won by tech fall over Tom Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) (TF 16-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Tom Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Jon Shellenberger (St. John`s) won by pin over Tom Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) (Pin 3:15)
157 - Omar Reynoso scored 0.00 team points and -3.50 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Brad Masche (La Crosse) won by major decision over Omar Reynoso (UW-Milwaukee) (Maj 21-9)
Cons. Round 1 - Joe Lofboom (St. John`s) won by major decision over Omar Reynoso (UW-Milwaukee) (Maj 12-0)
165 - Tony Franciosi scored 0.00 team points and -3.50 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Kevin Luedtke (UW-Oshkosh) won by pin over Tony Franciosi (UW-Milwaukee) (Pin 2:07)
Cons. Round 1 - Tony Franciosi (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 - Wes Gregg (Luther) won by pin over Tony Franciosi (UW-Milwaukee) (Pin 0:47)
174 - Darin Kwilinski scored 9.00 team points and 11.60 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Bradon Reyerson (Luther) won by pin over Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) (Pin 6:06)
Cons. Round 1 - Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 - Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) won by injury default over Dan Schulte (La Crosse) (Inj.)
Cons. Round 3 - Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) won by pin over Chris Haugen (St. John`s) (Pin 4:52)
Cons. Semi - Eli Felts (UW-Oshkosh) won by decision over Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) (Dec 6-2)
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The tournament featured reserve wrestlers from a variety of elite NCAA Division 3 wrestling programs, including UW-La Crosse, Augsburg, and Luther. The other teams at the tournament brought their entire rosters, for the most part.
Hughes and Kwilinski won big matches for the Panthers, but Darin wasn't satisfied.
"I felt I wasn't wrestling my best," said Kwilinski. "I struggled mentally, for whatever reason, all day. It's frustrating to be beating someone and then have a mental break for a second and find yourself going to the other end of the bracket. That being said, I had a few lucky breaks and bounced back to gain a top six status."
Darin was refering to his first match of the day, where he was winning well into the third period before getting flipped onto his back and pinned with less than a minute to go. Kwilinski rebounded with a win, however, and ended up in the top six.
Darin went on to comment about freshman teammate Alex Hughes.
"I was thrilled [to be in the top six], but even more excited for Alex. I think he was the reason I stayed mentally tough. If a freshmen can do it, why can't I? He was definitely an inspiration to watch. His improvement over the season has been a real neat thing to watch."
Head coach Koy Kosek echoed those sentiments.
"Alex secured 8th place for us with his win over Itasca's wrestler, so that was better than we were expected to do as a team here. He is probably the most dedicated wrestler on the team at the moment.
"The team really came out well in the first round of matches, except for Darin's mental lapse in his first match," continued Kosek. "After that first round, we had a couple of matches that I wasn't thrilled with, but overall we gave it a good effort. This team looked three times better than it did at the UW-Oshkosh tournament."
UWEC Invitational Team Scores
1. St. John`s StJ 120.5
2. UW-Stevens Point UWSP 113.0
3. Augsburg Augs 99.5
4. La Crosse UW-L 92.5
5. UW-Eau Claire UWEC 75.0
6. UW-Oshkosh UW-O 69.5
7. Luther Luth 47.0
8. UW-Milwaukee UWM 14.0
9. Itasca cc Ita 10.0
UWEC Invitational Results for UW-Milwaukee
125 - Alex Hughes scored 5.00 team points and 5.50 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Freddie Vigil (Augsburg) won by major decision over Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) (Maj 11-0)
Cons. Round 2 - Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) won by decision over John Gray (Itasca cc) (Dec 10-4)
Cons. Semi - Brandon Page (UW-Eau Claire) won by major decision over Alex Hughes (UW-Milwaukee) (Maj 11-2)
133 - Tom Hansen scored 0.00 team points and -3.50 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Tom Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Quarterfinal - Paul Bjorkstrand (Augsburg) won by tech fall over Tom Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) (TF 16-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Tom Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Jon Shellenberger (St. John`s) won by pin over Tom Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) (Pin 3:15)
157 - Omar Reynoso scored 0.00 team points and -3.50 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Brad Masche (La Crosse) won by major decision over Omar Reynoso (UW-Milwaukee) (Maj 21-9)
Cons. Round 1 - Joe Lofboom (St. John`s) won by major decision over Omar Reynoso (UW-Milwaukee) (Maj 12-0)
165 - Tony Franciosi scored 0.00 team points and -3.50 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Kevin Luedtke (UW-Oshkosh) won by pin over Tony Franciosi (UW-Milwaukee) (Pin 2:07)
Cons. Round 1 - Tony Franciosi (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 - Wes Gregg (Luther) won by pin over Tony Franciosi (UW-Milwaukee) (Pin 0:47)
174 - Darin Kwilinski scored 9.00 team points and 11.60 NCWA rankings points.
Champ. Round 1 - Bradon Reyerson (Luther) won by pin over Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) (Pin 6:06)
Cons. Round 1 - Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) received a bye (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 - Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) won by injury default over Dan Schulte (La Crosse) (Inj.)
Cons. Round 3 - Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) won by pin over Chris Haugen (St. John`s) (Pin 4:52)
Cons. Semi - Eli Felts (UW-Oshkosh) won by decision over Darin Kwilinski (UW-Milwaukee) (Dec 6-2)
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