APPLETON, Wis. -- John Budi picked up career victory No. 100, and the Lawrence University wrestling team won the championship at the Northern Wrestling Association Tournament at Lakeland College on Saturday.
Budi, a senior from Kimberly, Wis., went 3-0 at 174 pounds to win the title.
He pushed his season record to 19-7 and is now 100-43 for his career. Budi is
only the seventh wrestler in Lawrence history to reach 100 victories.
Budi, who was one of five Vikings to win individual titles, pinned Craig Noggle
in 4:21 in the quarterfinals and then defeated Steve McCullough of Concordia
(Wis.) 9-0 in the semifinals. He took the title when MSOE's Tim O'Connor was
forced to default.
Lawrence piled up 109 points to edge Lakeland, which had 95 points, for the title. Lawrence's Dave Novickis was named Coach of the Year, and Sam Laes earned Freshman of the Year honors.
Laes, who took the title at 165, started his day with a 40-second pin of Knox's Luke Karner. He then beat Concordia's Pete Geelan 10-0 before beating Lakeland's Kody Klopp 11-8 in the championship match.
Tony Kazik won the championship at 133 by edging Concordia's Anthony Myers 2-1
in the title match. He pinned Lakeland's James Jinnin in 2:19 in the semifinals.
Tony Norton won the title for Lawrence at 149 by pinning Lakeland's Jake Frias
in 4:55. He beat Knox's Josh Franklin 4-0 in the semifinals.
Jack Peters, wrestling at 197, picked up Lawrence's other championship. He pinned
Concordia's Jason Lawrence in 2:46 in the quarterfinals and followed that by
beating Knox's Greg Leibach 3-1 in the semifinals. Peters took the title with
a 4-2 victory over MSOE's Tyler Knutson.
Lawrence wraps up its season on Sunday when it travels to UW-La Crosse for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.