EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team fell to top-ranked Augsburg 33-7 in a dual on Tuesday at the McPhee Center. The eighth-ranked Blugolds picked up wins at 133 pounds and 174 pounds, but ultimately fell to the defending national champions.

The dual opened at 125 pounds, where Carter Schulz (So. – Rice Lake, Wis.) wrestled 14^th-ranked Derek Steele. The match was neck-and-neck for two periods, but Steele pulled away for a 5-2 decision.

Top-ranked Tyler Fleetwood (Sr. – Fulton, Ill.) took the mat at 133 pounds for the Blugolds, facing Wyatt Kaczrowski. Fleetwood had no trouble at all giving the Blugolds the lead in the dual, racking up multiple near falls to eventually win by 13-3 major decision. It gave UW-Eau Claire a 4-3 lead after two matches.

Drew Kested (So. – Sterling, Ill.) wrestled at 141 pounds for UW-Eau Claire. He squared off with top-ranked Sam Stuhl. Kested fell to the defending national champion 15-0 in a technical fall.

The 149-pound weight class was the first to pit ranked wrestlers head-to-head. The Blugolds sent 12^th-ranked Zach Sato (Jr. – Oswego, Ill.) to the mat to face fifth-ranked Charlie Stuhl. In a match decided by thin margins, Stuhl escaped with a 2-1 decision victory.

Colton Sund (Jr. – Prior Lake, Minn.) wrestled at 157 pounds for the Blugolds. He faced Kaden Reetz, who won by 15-1 major decision.

The 165-pound match pitted UW-Eau Claire's Tristan Massie (Sr. – Hillsdale, Wis./Barron), ranked seventh in the nation, against fourth-ranked Cooper Willis. Willis got out to an eight-point lead and held on down the stretch, taking the match by 9-3 decision.

The 174-pound match featured another top-10 clash. Second-ranked Jared Stricker (Jr. – Ashland, Wis.) wrestled sixth-ranked Seth Goetzinger. An early takedown gave Stricker a lead to work with, and he made it insurmountable with a big reversal in the second period. He held on to win by 11-4 decision.

Another top-10 battle was in store at 184 pounds, with 10^th-ranked Niall Schoenfelder (Jr. – Antioch, Ill.) wrestling top-ranked Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann. Schoenfelder fell to the reigning All-American by 11-2 major decision.

Ian Pepple (Fr. – Hastings, Minn.) wrestled at 197 pounds for the Blugolds, taking on Tyler Raway. Raway steadily built a lead and finished with a 10-0 major decision victory.

The final match of the night saw Jackson Schichel (Sr. – Hastings, Minn.) wrestle at 285 pounds, taking on top-ranked Tyler Kim. Kim, a reigning All-American, won by fall in the second period.

The Blugolds (2-2) will be back on the mat at the Blithe Memorial Duals at Cornerstone University beginning December 1. The duals take place across two days of wrestling.