Eau Claire, Wis. – The Wheaton wrestling competed at the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional this weekend, hosted by Eau Claire. The Thunder grapplers finished 11^th in the 18-team field.

Augsburg University won the Regional title with 163.5 points, followed by the host Blugolds of UW-Eau Claire in second with 143 points. UW-La Crosse placed third with 133.5 points, UW-Platteville was fourth with 113 points, University of Chicago scored 1105. points in fifth place, UW-Oshkosh scored 92.5 points in sixth place, and UW-Whitewater was seventh with 85 points. Concordia-Moorhead registered 76.5 points in eighth place, Elmhurst scored 71.5 points in ninth place, UW-Stevens Point scored 58.5 points in 10th place, Wheaton totaled 40 points in 11th place, Aurora finished 12th with 34 points, Concordia (Wis.) was 13th with 27.5 points, Carthage finished 14th with 18.5 points and MSOE placed 15th with six points.

Three Wheaton wrestlers advanced out of Friday's first day of action to compete on Saturday. Ethan Renager placed fourth at 141-pounds, Ethan Harsted finished sixth at 133-pounds, and Jackson Punzel (197-pounds) was eighth at 197-pounds.

Renager opened action at 141-pounds with a 4-3 decision over UChicago's Vincent Menozzi on Friday. Renager lost a 12-2 major decision against Augsburg's Sam Stuhl in the second round. Renager returned to action in the consolation round with an 11-4 decision against Luke Hill of UW-Stevens Point. Renager won a 3-1 decision against Dakarai Clay of UW-Whitewater when action resumed on Saturday. Renager advanced to the third-place match by picking up a medical forfeit against Aurora's Cameron Johnson. Zach Sato of UW-Eau Claire edged Renager in a 3-1 decision in overtime of the third-place match.

Harsted received a first-round bye in the 133-pound bracket. Zach Thompson of UW-Platteville defeated Harsted in a 14-7 decision in the second round. Harsted won an 18-3 technical fall in the consolation bracket against Aurora's Skyler Pike. Harsted defeated Warren Stanfield of University of Chicago via a fall at the 2:49 mark of their match when wrestling resumed on Saturday. Ty Bisek of Concordia-Moorhead won a 13-11 decision over Harsted in overtime to send Harsted to the fifth-place match. Sawyer Sarbacker of UW-La Crosse edged Harsted in a 4-3 decision in the fifth-place match.

Punzel opened the tournament on Friday with a 15-3 major decision over Aurora's Angel Jaimes in the first round of the 197-pound bracket. Tyler Hannah of UW-Platteville defeated Punzel in a 3-1 decision in overtime of their second-round match. Punzel defeated Marcus Orlandoni of UW-La Crosse in a 12-5 decision in the consolation round. Punzel opened his action on Saturday with a  loss in a 5-2 decision against Gabriel Zierden of Concordia-Moorhead. Sam Melton defeated Punzel in an 8-6 decision in the seventh-place match.