LA CROSSE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team competed in its first dual of the season on Thursday at UW-La Crosse. The eighth-ranked Blugolds battled, but fell to 12^th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology 19-16 in their season opener.

The matchup saw several nationally ranked wrestlers compete, including a few who met head-to-head.

Travis Moelter (Fr. – River Falls, Wis.) opened the dual for the Blugolds, wrestling at 125 pounds. The freshman fell 12-4 to Akhil Vega.

Tyler Fleetwood (Sr. – Fulton, Ill.) entered the season as the No. 1 wrestler in the country at 133 pounds, and lived up to the billing in his season opener. He was in control from start to finish against a ranked foe and earned a 5-0 decision over 12^th-ranked Luke Hoerle.

Drew Kested (So. – Sterling, Ill.) wrestled at 141 pounds for UW-Eau Claire. He faced a tough opponent in 10^th-ranked Nico Diaz, but gave a battle. Kested eventually fell in a 10-4 decision.

The Blugolds sent 12^th-ranked Zach Sato (Jr. – Oswego, Ill.) to the mat at 149 pounds. The bout was scoreless for the first two periods before Sato made a late surge to win by 3-0 decision over Pasquale Vizzoni.

Colton Sund (Jr. – Prior Lake, Minn.) squared off with third-ranked Ryan Smith at 157. He lost by fall late in the first period.

The 165-pound match saw ranked grapplers go head-to-head in seventh-ranked Tristan Massie (Sr. – Hillsdale, Wis./Barron) of UW-Eau Claire and 15^th-ranked Harrison Hinojosa of Stevens. Hinojosa led 1-0 at the end of the second period, but Massie earned a quick point early in the third to force an extra period. A quick move early in overtime gave Hinojosa a 4-1 victory.

The 174-pound match pitted two of the premier wrestlers in Division III against each other, with second-ranked Jared Stricker (Jr. – Ashland, Wis.) of UW-Eau Claire meeting fourth-ranked Stefan Major. It was a rematch of last year's NCAA quarterfinal match, which Stricker won via fall. Major took a 6-1 lead early in the first period of Thursday's match before Stricker rallied to cut it to 6-5 heading into the second. An escape early in the third made it 6-6, and a move in the final minute of the match gave Stricker a 9-6 victory to open his season.

Tenth-ranked Niall Schoenfelder (Jr. – Antioch, Ill.) wrestled at 184 pounds for the Blugolds. He raced out to a 3-1 lead in the first period and never looked back, keeping control of the action in a 7-2 win over Joel Martsinovsky.

Freshman Cole Matulenko (Fr. – Libertyville, Ill.) was the Blugolds' grappler at 197 pounds against Blaise Wagner. A high-scoring first period saw each wrestler put four points on the board. Wagner took a slim 9-7 lead into the third period, and held off a Matulenko push to win 12-9.

Jackson Schichel (Sr. – Hastings, Minn.) was the final wrestler of the night for UW-Eau Claire, competing in the heavyweight class. He steadily built a lead without slowing down, winning his season opener by 11-2 major decision.

The Blugolds will be back in action with another ranked clash on Saturday, November 11. UW-Eau Claire hosts its home opener, a dual against fourth-ranked Johnson & Wales University, at 5 p.m. at the McPhee Center. The Blugolds will hold Military Appreciation Night and Team Night at the dual.