STEVENS POINT, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The UW-Eau Claire wrestling team opened its season with a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) dual at UW-Stevens Point on Tuesday. The Blugolds got off to a strong start to the year, winning every match but one in a 33-3 victory.
UW-Eau Claire got one win by fall. Chase Melton (Sr. - Spooner, Wis.) won with a pin in 1:37 at 197 pounds. Tyler Fleetwood (Jr. - Fulton, Ill.) added a victory with an 18-3 technical fall at 133 pounds.
Colton Sund (So. - Prior Lake, Minn.) won via a 16-4 major decision at 157 pounds. Tristan Massie (Jr. - Hillsdale, Wis./Barron) earned a six-point win with a 6-1 decision in the 165-pound weight class. Three Blugolds won by five-point decisions: Drew Kested (Fr. - Sterling, Ill.) 5-0 at 141 pounds, Markus Brown (So. - Iron River, Wis./Northwestern) 7-2 at 149 pounds, and Niall Schoenfelder (So. - Antioch, Ill.) 9-4 at 184 pounds.
Jared Stricker (So. - Ashland, Wis.) earned a 5-1 win at 174 pounds, and Jackson Schichel (Jr. - Hastings, Minn.) rounded out the scoring with a 3-2 win at 285 pounds. Carter Schulz (Fr. - Rice Lake, Wis.) fell in a narrow 3-1 decision at 125 pounds.
"We had a really good start to the season," Blugolds assistant coach Brandon Carroll said. "I thought our guys did a great job of coming out firing, scoring a lot of points, and wrestling hard. I didn't see much of the rust that you see with that first weigh-in and I thought we had some upperclassmen that really displayed what Blugolds wrestling is all about. Excited to build off of this performance."
The Blugolds return to action at the Yellowjacket Open on November 5 in Rochester, Minn.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
