CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (blugolds.com) – Five Blugolds will represent the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire this weekend at the 2022 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, IA. The national championship event will be hosted by the American Rivers Conference (ARC) at the U.S. Cellular Center on Friday and Saturday, March 11th and 12th.
Tournament Page | NCAA Brackets | Live Stream | Live Stats (Trackwrestling)
Zach Sato (Sr. – Oswego, IL), Chase Schmidt (Sr. – Rice Lake, WI), Jared Stricker (Fr. – Ashland, WI), Tyler Fleetwood (So. – Fulton, IL/Wartburg), and Jake Drexler (Jr. – Stratford, WI) will all compete in their respective divisions during the tournament. All five wrestlers will make their NCAA Championship debuts on Friday, despite Drexler making it to the tournament in 2020. The 2020 and 2021 NCAA Winter Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After two wins on day one of the Upper Midwest Regional, Drexler earned his spot in the finals with a semifinal victory over J. Buford (UWO). The championship match was a tough one, but in the end, Drexler pulled away with the 6-1 decision victory to earn a top podium finish and a NCAA berth.
Fleetwood and Schmidt also appeared in the finals matches of their brackets by winning their opening semifinal matches to earn their spot for the NCAA Championships. Fleetwood fell in his finals match to M. Berlin (UWSP) by a 11-2 major decision and Schmidt fell just short in his bout against S. Brossard (UWL) by a 6-4 decision.
Stricker bounced back in the regionals at the 174 division with a third-place 6-3 decision victory over R. Vedner (UWW) to earn a trip to the NCAA's. Sato shared the same outcome with a victory over E. Reagner (WC), earning him a spot in the national tournament.
The session one of the NCAA Championships will begin on Friday, March 11th at 11AM.
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