Harlem’s Zac Denny Leads UW-Whitewater Wrestling

By Bob Balgemann, REPORTER

 Lots of people gain weight as they get older. That’s not the case with Zac Denny. A standout wrestler while attending Harlem High School, he placed third in the State in 2011, while competing at 112 pounds. He ended with a record of 43 wins and just six losses. The following season he finished fifth, this time at 120 pounds with a 30-7 record. After graduating from Harlem in May 2012, he continued wrestling at the next level at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. Four years later, he’s a Senior at Division III UW-W and still wrestling – at 125 pounds.

Denny currently is ranked second nationally in the D3wrestling.com rankings and third by the NWCA. He is the team’s only returning All-American and a national qualifier from 2015-16, having finished fourth in the NCAA Championships last year. He finished 20-11 last season and won the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship, while taking second in the Wisconsin Illinois Athletic Conference.

Courtesy Photo. Former Harlem wrestler Zac Denny, went against Oak Park River Forest wrestler Larry Early at the State Meet in 2012.

At UW-W, he is majoring in media arts and game development. The Warhawks are 15th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Preseason Team Ranking. UW-W is on the road a lot, only having one home match. That will come Nov. 30 against conference foe UW-Stevens Point on Senior Night. Their schedule is filled with top Division III opponents such as Wartburg (Iowa), currently ranked No. One in the nation; No. Six UW-LaCrosse; No. 11 Cornell (Iowa); and No. 13 Augsburg (Minn). They will be in Illinois once, at the Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational on Jan. 27-28, 2017.

This year’s Midwest Regional Championship is Feb. 25 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The NCAA Championship is March 10-11 at UW-LaCrosse. The Warhawks tied for 23rd at the National Meet last season.