UW-L seniors Weinmann, Carlson looking for national titles

Weinmann is undefeated and the favorite
at 141, while Carlson is ranked third at 174.

Two wrestlers will feel somewhat at home as the NCAA Division III wrestling national championships get underway today from the La Crosse Center.

Seniors Dustin Weinmann and Richard Carlson hope to finish off their University of Wisconsin-La Crosse careers champions. The meet begins at 11 a.m. today, and continues at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Weinmann, who is top-ranked and top-seeded at 141 pounds, is 23-0 on the season. It’s his third time in the championships. He finished third last season at 133, going 5-1.

Carlson, who’s is ranked third and seeded third at 174, is 25-2 this season. He finished sixth in last year’s championships.

“Our guys have really come a long way,” UW-L coach Dave Malecek said. “Some guys maybe peak a little bit early, around Christmas time or maybe in January but our guys continuously have gotten better as the season’s gone on.”

Both Weinmann and Carlson won WIAC titles this season. 

The Eagles have had 19 (13 wrestlers) NCAA D-III individual champions. 

UW-L is serving as host of the championships for the third time in school history (2011, 2012, 2017). As a team, the Eagles finished sixth in the national championship last season.