Pioneer success at the annual Super 8 Invite
Junior mechanical engineering major Josh Cannon midlift in his first round bout in his first match of the year.
This winter looks to be one of promise after University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s wrestlers hit the mat last Saturday at their home invite, the Super 8 Invitational.
The Super 8 Invitational, sponsored by Super 8 Motels, hosted six other teams besides the Pioneers at the Williams Fieldhouse. The individual tournament allowed for each school’s wrestlers to enter more than one participant at each weight class. Williams Fieldhouse was packed with four mats down and a nearly full crowd that supported an exciting beginning to the collegiate wrestling season.
The Pioneers looked great across their entire roster after having nine out of the ten weight classes claiming an individual place in the top four. Four became Super 8 champions: Carter Barkema at 149, Jon Goetz at 174, Grant Wedepohl at 184, and D’Andre Johnson at 285. With such a strong start out of the gate, fans have a lot to look forward to this season.
Scott Arneson, sophomore physical education major and WIAC champion at the 133-weight class last year, believes there is a lot to look forward to in the 2016-2017 season.
“As a team we are excited for the opportunity to compete doing something that we love. Some of our team goals are to improve physically and mentally every day, and the rest will take care of itself,” Arneson exclaimed.
Looking further into the Pioneer’s season, they have a long road ahead. The next time the Pioneers will hit the mat is this upcoming weekend at the Dan Gable Open at UW-Oshkosh before returning home against Loras College for the first team dual of the season, the “Headlocking Hunger” event.
According to their website, Headlock on Hunger is “an outreach of Eblen Charities a nonprofit organization based in Asheville North Carolina, that brings together the wrestling community as well as public, private, and sports organizations to help provide food for children who are dealing with hunger at home.”
The “Headlocking Hunger” dual will be at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 at Williams Fieldhouse and will be an exciting opportunity to attend for a special cause that affects many off of the mat.
