Led by individual champion Vinny Alber, the UW-Platteville wrestling team took third out of 16 teams at the 44th annual North Central Invitational Friday and Saturday in Naperville, Il.
The host and 12th-ranked Cardinals won the team title with 125.5 points, followed by 26th-ranked Elmhurst with 113, UWP 105, Augustana 69.5 and Wheaton 63.5.
The freshman Alber won the 141-pound weight class, winning four matches, including one by pin. He beat top-seeded Charlie Curran of Elmhurst 10-4 in the championship match.
Jesse Milks (157) and Brad Zellner (184) each placed second at their weights.
Milks won by a pin, a technical fall and a 7-0 shutout before falling 3-1 to Elmhurst's Kyle Katz in a battle of nationally ranked wrestlers. Milks came in seventh and Katz eighth.
Zellner won by a 5-0 shutout and a pair of technical falls until being stopped by North Central's Gabe Youel 11-2 in the title match. Youel is ranked fifth in the country.
Ryan Higgins (149), Cory Zuberbier (174) and Michael Jackowski (197) each took third in their weights.
Coach Chris Walter will bring his Pioneers to Manchester (Ind.) College next weekend for the Spartan Matman Invitational.
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