FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

Results

SOMERS, Wis. (Dec. 1, 2012)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside wrestling squad claimed three weight classes and a pair of runner-up finishes on Saturday at the Wisconsin Open held inside Petretti Fieldhouse.

Derek Davison secured top honors at the 157-pound weight class, downing Purdue University's Alex Griffin by injury default, capping off the day with a 4-0 record.\\

Davion Willis kept his undefeated record intact on Saturday, rattling off three straight victories to claim the title at 197 pounds. Willis barely broke a sweat in his opening match, pinning Elmhurst College's Jon Nelson in 16 seconds before pinning Luther College's Nick Pearch to advance to the championship match where the redshirt sophomore grinded out a 2-1 decision over Minnesota State University-Mankato's Nathan Haynes.

James Malechek claimed the Rangers third weight class crown of the afternoon, winning by disqualification over Purdue's Tyler Kral in the championship match. Malechek earned a spot in the finals by rolling through his first three matches, earning victories by pin, tech fall (15-0) and pin. UWP's Brady Stumpf fell to Malecheck in the semifinal round, eventually placing fifth with a pin over Elmhurst's Zack Urbanski.

Nick Fishback secured a runner-up showing at 165 pounds, falling 10-4 to University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Cedric Gibson in the finals. Fishback earned a spot in the championship after pinning Earl Hughes of Kennedy King College in the opening round before rolling off a pair of victories by decision.

At 174, Josh Anthony placed second, eventually stumbling to Luther's Jarid Groth, 15-8. Anthony opened the day with a 13-4 major decision victory at the expense of North Central College's Kyle Hughes before pinning Elmhurst's Joe Litoborski with two seconds remaining in the opening round. Anthony tallied a 5-2 decision in the quarterfinals before pinning Elmhurst's Joey Caprio in 1:44 to advance to the finals.

Blaine Conner was honored with the Pinner's Award en route to a third place finish at 184 pounds.  The redshirt sophomore closed the day with a 4-1 record with all four victories coming by pin. Conner pinned North Central's Adam Lehnus in the opening round before needing just 57 seconds to dispose of second round adversary Micah Bailew of Luther. Conner lost to three-time All-American and current UW-Parkside assistant coach Luke Rynish, who was competing unattached, in the semifinals, before earning two pins in the wrestleback to secure third place and the Pinner's Award.

At 125, teammates Jacob Papke and Ryan McQuade tied for fourth on a double forfeit. Papke won by major decision and tech fall before falling in the semis. A 7-6 victory in the wrestleback set up a showdown with McQuade who was competing unattached before both opted not to wrestle against each other in the third place match.

The Rangers compete as a split squad next weekend, sending some athletes to the Husky Open in Saint Cloud, MInn. while the rest of the team will compete at the Dan Gable Open hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.