Badgers qualify three to NCAA Championships

[TomM]

Badgers qualify three to NCAA Championships

Burwick, Hillger and Weiler place at Big Ten Championships

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Wisconsin wrestling is sending three Badgers to the 2021 NCAA Championships in two weeks in St. Louis, Missouri thanks to automatic qualifications at the Big Ten Championships held this weekend at Penn State.

Wild card qualifications for possible additional Badgers will be announced this week.

Redshirt freshman Kyle Burwick earned his first-ever NCAA qualification after placing fifth overall at 133 pounds. Burwick opened the event with a loss, but rallied back through a challenging consolation bracket to eventually qualify and take a spot on the podium. Burwick's final match saw him earn a physical 4-3 decision over Purdue's Jacob Rundell. Seeded No. 10, Burwick climbed five spots in his final results from the projections.

Redshirt senior Chris Weiler claimed the Badgers' first automatic qualification to NCAAs this weekend. A graduate transfer from Pennsylvania, Weiler earned a No. 2 seed at 184 pounds entering the tournament and a bye to open the Championships. A 9-4 decison over Purdue's Max Lyon secured him his third career national qualification. He finished the Championships 2-2 and in fifth place overall after a forfeit from Michigan State in the final session.

Heavyweight and redshirt junior Trent Hillger also earned his third national qualification after battling back through the consolation rounds. In prime fashion, he secured his trip to St. Louis with a revenge win and dominating pin of Illinois' Luke Luffman (who had beaten Hillger at the start of the season). Hillger earned the fall in 1:08.

Full results for all Wisconsin wrestlers is available below. Full results for the entire Big Ten Championships can be found here:
https://bigten.org/news/2021/3/7/iowa-claims-big-ten-wrestling-title.aspx

Notables
    Chris Weiler (184 lbs.) has qualified for the NCAA Championships after Session I
    Kyle Burwick (133 lbs.) has qualified for the NCAA Championships after Session II
    Trent Hillger (285 lbs.) has qualified for the NCAA Championships after Session III

Results
125: Eric Barnett (Seed #6)
    Record: 2-3 - 10th place
    Win: 3-2 Decision vs. Robert Howard (Penn State)
    Loss: 3-2 Decision vs. Malik Heinselman (Ohio State)
    Loss: Fall 5:33 vs. Patrick McKee (Minnesota)
    Bye - 9th place bracket to determine wildcard consideration
    Win: 12-2 Major Decision vs. Justin Cardani (Illinois)
    Loss: Fall 2:02 vs. Liam Cronin (Nebraska)
133: Kyle Burwick (Seed #10)
    Record: 3-2, 5th Place; Qualified for NCAA Championships
    Loss: 3-2 Decision vs. Jacob Rundell (Purdue)
    Win: 6-3 Decision vs. Tucker Sjomeling (Nebraska)
    Win: 4-3 Decision vs. Boo Dryden (Minnesota)
    Loss: 9-7 Decision vs. Chris Cannon (Northwestern)
    Fifth-Place Match: Win: 4-3 Decision vs. Jacob Rundell (Purdue)
141: Dominic Dentino (Seed #14)
    Record: 0-3
    Loss: Fall 0:39 vs. Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)
    Loss: 9-4 Decision vs. Marcos Polanco (Minnesota)
    Loss: 5-0 Decision vs. Danny Bertoni (Maryland) - 9th place bracket to determine wildcard consideration
149: Drew Scharenbrock (Seed #6)
    Record: 1-2
    Loss: 9-2 Decision vs. Kanen Storr (Michigan)
    Win: 10-5 Decision vs. Christian Kanzier (Illinois)
    Loss: 7-5 Decision vs. Griffin Parriott (Purdue)
157: Garrett Model (Seed #8)
    Record: 1-3 - 10th Place
    Loss: 9-6 Decision vs. Elijah Cleary (Ohio State)
    Loss: 8-3 Decision vs. Chase Saldate (Michigan State)
    Bye - 9th place bracket to determine wildcard consideration
    Win: 7-5 Decision vs. Luke Baughman (Indiana)
    Loss: 6-3 Decision vs. Elijah Cleary (Ohio State)
165: Josh Otto (Seed #14)
    Record: 0-3
    Loss: 8-4 Decision vs. Ethan Smith (Ohio State)
    Loss: 4-3 Decision vs. Joe Lee (Penn State)
    Loss: 2-1 Decision vs. Nick South (Indiana) - 9th place bracket to determine wildcard consideration
174: Jared Krattiger (Seed #8)
    Record: 1-2
    Win: 3-2 Decison vs. Jake Allar (Minnesota)
    Loss: Fall 1:30 vs. Michael Kemerer (Iowa)
    Loss: Fall 3:52 vs. Drew Hughes (Michigan State)
    Bye - 9th place bracket to determine wildcard consideration
    Forfeit to Emil Soehnlen (Purdue)
184: Chris Weiler (Seed #2)
    Record: 2-2, 5th Place; Qualified for NCAA Championships
    First-round Bye
    Win: 9-4 Decision vs. Max Lyon (Purdue)
    Loss: 10-3 Decision vs. Taylor Venz (Nebraska)
    Loss: 2-0 Decision vs. Nelson Brands (Iowa)
    Fifth-Place Match: Forfeit Win vs. Layne Malczewski (Michigan State)
197: Andrew Salemme (Seed #14)
    Record: 0-2
    Loss, Fall 0:59 vs. Jacob Warner (Iowa)
    Loss, Fall 4:25 vs. Garrett Joles (Minnesota)
285: Trent Hillger (Seed #6)
    Record: 3-2, 7th place; Qualified for NCAA Championships
    Win: 2-1 Decision vs. Christian Colucci (Rutgers)
    Loss: 9-1 Major Decision vs. Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
    Win: 11-2 Major Decision vs. Rudy Streck (Indiana)
    Loss: 7-3 Decision vs. Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
    Win: Fall 1:08 vs. Luke Luffman (Illinois)


JESSICA BURDA LESLIE | WISCONSIN ATHLETICS
Director of Brand Communications
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608.444.6588 | UWBadgers.com | @UWBadgers