UW-Whitewater's Vela to Compete at NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship

2016 Mar 9

Isaiah Vela, a native of West Chicago, IL, and member of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team, is one of four Warhawks to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championship, which takes place Friday and Saturday at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Warhawks, who placed fourth in 2015 and have finished among the nation's top 10 in each of the last four years, will be represented by senior Tom Gerszewski (Crystal Lake, Ill./South), junior Zac Denny (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem), sophomore Isaiah Vela (West Chicago, Ill./St. Charles East) and freshman Brandon Arteaga (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich). Each member of the qualifying quartet seek the program's first individual national championship since 1991.

UW-Whitewater finished the 2015-16 season with an 11-5 record in dual matches and its fifth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. The team tied for third at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship on Feb. 27.

Last season, the Warhawks finished fourth with a total of 60.5 points, two ahead of Delaware Valley (Pa.) and six shy of third-place Wabash (Ind.). Augsburg (Minn.) claimed the title with 100.0 points, followed by runner-up Wartburg (Iowa), which scored 89.5 points.

Gerszewski is the team's lone returning national qualifier. Competing at 157 pounds, he knocked off fourth-seeded Jon Garrison of Mount Union in his first match before dropping his next two.

Vela is majoring in Undeclared at UW-Whitewater.

See below for complete weight-by-weight capsules of each Warhawk competing this weekend.

125

Zac Denny

Seed: Unseeded

Record: 16-9

Ranking: Honorable Mention (d3wrestle.com)

First Round: vs. winner of James Goman (Augsburg)/Lucas Malmberg (Messiah)

After finishing one match shy of qualifying for the national tournament in each of the last two seasons, Denny punched his ticket in 2016 by winning the regional title. He knocked off nationally-ranked Ryan Weinmann of UW-La Crosse and Ben Vosters of UW-Stevens Point en route to the championship.

Denny could potentially see Messiah's Lucas Malmberg, a two-time national finalist, in the first round. Denny last faced Malberg last season, falling in an 8-3 decision.

149

Isaiah Vela

Seed: Unseeded

Record: 32-6

Ranking: Contender (d3wrestle.com)

First Round: vs. Kenny Martin (Wartburg)

Vela, the WIAC champion at 149 pounds, recovered from a one-point loss by decision against fellow national qualifier Ben Williamson of North Central by winning his last two matches, including a 9-8 decision over UW-Stevens Point's Joe Crook in the third place match.

With a win against Martin, the defending national champion, Vela would face Zach Wilhelm of Stevens Institute of Technology. With a loss, he would face elimination against the loser of No. 1 seed Derek Arnold of Ursinus and Trevor Engle of Cornell. Vela pinned Engle in 57 seconds on his way to first place at the Luther Open on Nov. 14.

157

Brandon Arteaga

Seed: Unseeded

Record: 28-12

Ranking: Honorable Mention (d3wrestle.com)

First Round: vs. No. 3 seed Drew Wagenhoffer (Wartburg)

Arteaga, the WIAC champion at 157 pounds, avenged a loss in the regional semifinals with two wins by decision to claim his spot in the NCAA Championship.

Arteaga's first round opponent, Drew Wagenhoffer, is a two-time All-American who placed fifth at last season's national tournament. Nick Bova of Wabash, who defeated Arteaga in overtime in the regional semifinals, is in the top half of the bracket. Arteaga is in the bottom half and could see North Central's Josh Tardy or Concordia's Pierce Holtfreter, who he faced at the Border Brawls on Jan. 23.

165

Tom Gerszewski

Seed: Unseeded

Record: 39-8

Ranking: No. 9 (National Wrestling Coaches Association); No. 6 (d3wrestle.com)

First Round: vs. Ben Schweiger (Delaware Valley)

Gerszewski reached the regional final, where he was defeated by UW-Stevens Point's Logan Hermsen in a narrow 3-2 decision. Gerszewski won the WIAC championship with an 11-2 major decision over Hermsen, who is seeded fifth in the national bracket, back on Feb. 14.

With a win over Schweiger, Gerszewski would take on Messiah's Jeff Hojnacki, who he defeated by a 9-1 major decision at the Wheaton (Ill.) Invitational on Jan. 30.