CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team wrapped up the first day of the 2022 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships with one of their five athletes advancing on to day two.
Chase Schmidt (Sr. – Rice Lake, WI) will start day two with consolation quarterfinals and a chance to fight for a third-place finish in the tournament.
Schmidt opened his day with a 5-4 decision win over Cooper Pontelandolfo (NYU). After falling to Coe College's Will Esmoli in the second round, Schmidt bounced back with a consolation victory over Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) foe, Preston Morgan (UWO) by an 8-1 decision. Schmidt will start tomorrow's consolation quarterfinals against another WIAC opponent, Seth Brossard (UWL).
Jared Stricker fell in his opening round match against the seventh seed, Demitreus Hnery (SUNY-CORT), by a 6-1 decision. Stricker turned things around in his next two matches with shutout wins over Kade Kravits (KING) and the fourth seed, Ben Sarasin (UC) to move along in the consolation bracket. Stricker's time in the 174-bracket ended after a close 6-4 decision loss to Jacob Krakow (LOR).
Jake Drexler (Jr. – Stratford, WI) opened his tournament debut with an upset win over the seventh seeded Chandler Merwin (SUNY-Cor) with a 5-2 decision victory. Drexler fell in next match to the second seeded Kristian Rumph (WART) in a close 7-5 decision, sending him to send him to the consolation bracket. With a matchup against unranked Kyle Merrit (NOR), Drexler's tournament ended in a nail biting 6-5 decision final.
Tyler Fleetwood (So. – Fulton, IL/Wartburg) and Zach Sato (Fr. – Oswego, IL) also competed in their first NCAA Championship matches. Both athletes battled hard but were knocked out of the tournament with two opening round loses.
Day two of the NCAA Championship is set to begin at 10AM from the U.S. Cellular Center with the consolation quarterfinals followed by the consolation matches for third, fifth, and seventh.
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