Over the past week, UW Oshkosh wrestling (1-3) took its first win against UW-Stevens Point (1-5), and attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Invitational resulting in placements for four Titans.

UWO bested UWSP on Dec. 1 by a score of 22-18, a difference Beau Yineman attributed to filling the roster and settling into the season.

“It was nice to finally get a dual win,” he said. “We had a full lineup this time around and wrestled better so we’re starting to get used to how it’s going to be this season. Not to say that we weren’t before but we also had better team energy on the bench.”

Coach Adam Konitzer is pleased with the win, and said that he is glad that they are seeing success from their improvements.

“It’s really good to see they are finding success now and making those adjustments,” he said. “It’s all progress to where they want to be at the end of the year.”

Experience and wrestling levels also made a difference in the meet as Yineman acknowledged that Stevens Point is a team that has a young roster akin to the Titans.

“We went against a more equally matched team,” he said. “We have a lot of young guys and so does Point, so that lined up quite a bit better. With that mentality our guys had a lot more confidence that time around.”

Another detail that allowed the Titans to best the Pointers according to Konitzer is, “Bonus Points.”

“We split matches 5-5,” he said. “We had a pin, two majors, and a tech-fall; where they didn’t get any bonus points. That was the biggest difference, and that was a team effort. That was the difference right there.”

Titans attended the MSOE Invitational Dec. 3, with wrestlers taking wins throughout the tournament’s weight classes.

In 125 Luc Valdez took second place, winning his first three matches, falling in his final match by decision. During his run in the tournament, he scored 14 team points.

The highest team scorer of the invitational was Cody Welker, who scored 18.5 points for the Titans and placed in fifth.

Oshkosh wrestling will appear once more in December at the Art Kraft Memorial Tournament in River Grove Illinois. on Dec. 10. During the Tournament UWO will not face off against any WIAC schools, something that Konitzer intended when he joined it.

“I want to get away from the familiarity, we’re going to see all those other schools in the future. It’s going to be a mix for new guys, and fresh faces for us.”

After the Kraft Tournament, UWO will take a month-long competition break. Yineman plans to utilize this time to the fullest due to its volatility of deciding the rest of the season.

“I’m looking forward to using the break time after in order to train and prepare,” he said. “Progressing while on that break is going to be super important for the rest of the year.”