MEQUON, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team sits in third place after the first day of action at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional on Friday at Concordia University Wisconsin. The Blugolds have nine wrestlers who still have a chance of being placewinners, and most still have the opportunity to advance to the NCAA championships.
The top three wrestlers in each weight class advance to nationals, and the Blugolds have nine wrestlers in the 10 classes still competing for one of those spots.
Six of the Blugolds' 10 wrestlers have reached the semifinals of their respective weight classes. Tyler Fleetwood (Jr. - Fulton, Ill.), Zach Sato (So. - Oswego, Ill.), Tristan Massie (Jr. - Hillsdale, Wis./Barron), Jared Stricker (So. - Ashland, Wis.), Niall Schoenfelder (So. - Antioch, Ill.) and Chase Melton (Sr. - Spooner, Wis.) will all wrestle in the semis on Saturday.
Fleetwood went 2-0 in his first two matches at 133 pounds. The junior won his opener with a 16-0 technical fall, and followed with a 5-0 decision in the quarterfinals. He will face University of Chicago's Griffin Seyfried in the semifinals, where a win would clinch him a spot at the NCAA championships.
Sato reached the 149-pound semifinals with back-to-back wins on Friday. He cruised to a 19-4 technical fall in his first match, and clinched a spot in the semis by getting a third-period pin in the quarterfinals. Twelfth-ranked Sato will take on fifth-ranked Jake Burford of UW-Whitewater in the semifinals.
Massie clinched his spot in the penultimate round with a pair of wins at 165 pounds. He scored a 16-0 techincal fall in the opener and won a 3-2 tiebreaker in the quarterfinals. The ninth-ranked junior will square off with fifth-ranked Cooper Willis of Augsburg in the semifinals, with the winner clinch a spot at nationals.
Stricker had no trouble winning his first two matches at 174 pounds. He started with an 11-2 major decision, and followed with a win via fall in the quarterfinals. The fourth-ranked sophomore faces Augsburg's Seth Goetzinger in the semifinals.
Schoenfelder is still in the hunt for a regional title at 184 pounds. He won his opener by 6-2 decision, and got through the quarterfinals with a 3-2 decision victory. Schoenfelder, ranked eighth, will wrestle fourth-ranked Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann of Augsburg in the semifinals.
Chase Melton, fresh off winning the WIAC title at 285 pounds, can add a regional crown to his haul with two more wins. The senior won by 17-2 technical fall in his first match, and added a 3-1 decision victory in the quarterfinals. He will face UW-La Crosse's Michael Douglas in the semifinals.
Carter Schulz (Fr. - Rice Lake, Wis.), Drew Kested (Fr. - Sterling, Ill.) and Sam Melton (Jr. - Shell Lake, Wis./Spooner) all still have a chance to advance to nationals through the consolation bracket. Schulz received a bye into the 125-pound quarterfinals, where he fell in a 4-1 decision. However, he responded with a 16-0 techincal fall in his first consolation match. He could still finish third with three more wins on Saturday.
Kested reached the 141-pound quarterfinals by winning his first match by 8-0 major decision. He fell by 6-0 decision in the quarterfinals, but took his first consolation match by 3-1 decision. He faces UW-La Crosse's Sam Lorenz in the consolation quarterfinals.
Sam Melton dropped his first match at 197 pounds, but bounced back with two consolation victories. He won by fall in the first wrestle-back match, and earned an 8-6 sudden victory in the next round. He will wrestle Concordia's Peyton Smith in the consolation quarterfinals.
Zach Schneider (Jr. - Houston, Minn.) wrestled at 157 pounds for the Blugolds. He won his first match by fall before dropping a 7-4 decision in the quarterfinals. He fell by 10-7 decision in the consolation bracket to wrap up his tournament.
The Blugolds tallied 82.5 team points, only behind leader Augsburg (100 points) and second-place UW-La Crosse (86 points). Wrestling resumes at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
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