ZD
Zachary Denny
  • Media Arts & Game Dev
  • Class of 2018
  • Machesney Park, Ill.

Machesney Park's Denny Qualifies for NCAA Wrestling Championships at UW-Whitewater

2017 Mar 2

Zac Denny, a native of Machesney Park, IL, and graduate of Harlem Senior High School, is one of four members of the 10th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team who qualified for next week's NCAA Division III Championships by virtue of finishing among the top three of their weight classes at last weekend's NCAA Midwest Regional in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Seniors Zac Denny (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem), Joseph Brodman (Tiffin, Ohio/Calvert), junior Jordan Newman (Blaine, Minn./St. John's Military Academy (Wis.)) and freshman Devin Tortorice (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel) each qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships, which are scheduled for March 10-11 at UW-La Crosse. All four reached the championship bout of their respective weight classes, with Denny, Brodman and Newman taking home first-place medals and Tortorice finishing second.



Denny, ranked third in the nation by D3wrestle.com and fourth by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, took home his second straight regional title at 125 pounds. He bested Elmhurst's Anthony Munoz in the semifinals by sudden victory before posting an 11-3 major decision over Wheaton's Carlos Fuentez, who is ranked eighth by D3wrestle.com.



Brodman recorded his first career regional championship at 133 pounds to earn his first career trip to the national tournament. Brodman, ranked sixth by D3wrestle.com and seventh by the NWCA, bested fellow top-10 wrestlers Ryan Weinmann of UW-La Crosse and Jared Braun of Elmhurst by decision en route to the title.



Denny and Brodman each reached 100 career wins during the weekend. Denny reached the plateau with his first-round victory over Alma on Friday, and Brodman earned the milestone with his 8-5 decision over Braun in the finals.



Newman, ranked No. 1 by D3wrestle.com and third by the NWCA, claimed his second career bid to the NCAA Championships after rolling through the 184-pound bracket. He pinned Alma's Trent Hullett in the semifinals before downing the nation's consensus No. 10 wrestler, Jared Fekete of Wheaton, by an 8-2 decision.



Tortorice punched his ticket to La Crosse by finishing as the runner-up at 141 pounds. After knocking off consensus top-10 wrestler Chase Wilson of Manchester on Friday, Tortorice downed another nationally-ranked opponent, North Central's Layten Binion, by a 7-3 decision. He was edged in the title bout by consensus No. 1 Dustin Weinmann of UW-La Crosse.

Competition at the NCAA Championships in La Crosse begins at 11 a.m. on March 10 and continues March 11 at 10 a.m. Denny and Newman each seek All-America honors for the second time in their careers.

See below for complete results on all four below.

125:
Zac Denny (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem)
First Round: d. Aaron Parr-Besemer (Alma) by major decision, 17-4
Quarterfinal: d. Nelson Baker (UW-La Crosse) by fall, 4:56
Semifinal: d. Anthony Munoz (Elmhurst) by decision, 7-5 (SV-1)
Final: d. Carlos Fuentez (Wheaton) by major decision, 11-3

133:
Joseph Brodman (Tiffin, Ohio/Calvert)
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinal: d. Michael Bannach (UW-Stevens Point) by technical fall, 22-7 (3:55)
Semifinal: d. Ryan Weinmann (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 4-2
Final: d. Jared Braun (Elmhurst) by decision, 8-5

141:
Devin Tortorice (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel)
First Round: d. Robe Harris (Otterbein) by fall, 4:05
Quarterfinal: d. Chase Wilson (Manchester) by decision, 3-1
Semifinal: d. Layten Binion (North Central) by decision, 7-3
Final: lost to Dustin Weinmann (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 3-1

184:
Jordan Newman (Blaine, Minn./St. John's Military Academy (Wis.))
First Round: Bye
Quarterfinal: d. Myron Howard (Wabash) by fall, 0:47
Semifinal: d. Trent Hullett (Alma) by fall, 3:14
Final: d. Jared Fekete (Wheaton) by decision, 8-2