WHITEWATER, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team staged a late rally to take down eighth-ranked UW-Whitewater 20-19 on a tiebreaker on the road on Thursday. The ninth-ranked Blugolds tied the dual at 19 by winning the final match, and got the decisive point via tiebreaker to remain unbeaten in WIAC duals this season.
The Blugolds trailed 19-16 entering the final bout of the night, a 174-pound clash between Jared Stricker (So. - Ashland, Wis.) and Ryan Riser. Stricker — ranked 13th nationally by InterMat — won the match by 5-2 decision to even the score at 19-19, and the tiebreaker favored UW-Eau Claire. The Blugolds improved to 3-0 in WIAC duals.
"I'm proud of our team's performance tonight," Blugolds assistant coach Brandon Carroll said. "We went through a lot of adversity throughout the dual and our guys were able to stay focused and continue to battle. We showed a lot of growth in areas we knew we had to be better, so tonight was really encouraging and I'm proud of our guys."
Thursday's wrestling began at 184 pounds, where 10th-ranked Niall Schoenfelder (So. - Antioch, Ill.) fell by major decision 15-4 to second-ranked Jaritt Shinhoster. The Blugolds answered with wins in the next two matches. Sam Melton (Jr. - Shell Lake, Wis./Spooner) defeated Jake Kaminski by major decision, 17-6, at 197 pounds. Chase Melton (Sr. - Spooner, Wis.) followed with the Blugolds' only pin of the night, winning by fall over Garner Simmons at 285 pounds. He ended the match early in the second period, and put the Blugolds ahead 10-4 on the scoreboard.
Carter Schulz (Fr. - Rice Lake, Wis.) battled before falling to Tyler Klein by 6-3 decision at 125 pounds. Ninth-ranked Tyler Fleetwood (Jr. - Fulton, Ill.) put points on the board for the Blugolds with a 5-0 decision victory over Dominik Mallinder at 133 pounds, extended the team's lead to 13-7.
The Warhawks took the next two bouts to take their first lead. Drew Kested (Fr. - Sterling, Ill.) fell with an injury at 141 pounds, and 15th-ranked Zach Sato (So. - Oswego, Ill.) fell in a narrow 11-10 decision to third-ranked Jake Burford at 149. It built a 16-13 lead for UW-Whitewater.
Colton Sund (So. - Prior Lake, Minn.) picked up a key win at 157 pounds to tie the dual again. He defeated Hunter Rudzinski in an 8-4 decision, bringing the team scores to 16-16.
Tenth-ranked Tristan Massie (Jr. - Hillsdale, Wis./Barron) saw his 165-pound match go to overtime, where he fell to Ryan Vedner in a sudden victory 6-4. It put the Warhawks ahead 19-16 and set the stage for Stricker's clinching victory.
The Blugolds, ranked inside the top 10 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's dual rankings for the first time in program history, improved to 9-2 in duals this season. They host UW-La Crosse in another top-10 matchup next week. The third-ranked Eagles visit the ninth-ranked Blugolds on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. at the McPhee Center.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
