HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (
www.blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling had a group of wrestlers competing at the 2023 Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern University, on Friday. After the first two sessions of matches, the Blugolds tallied six total wins amongst a field of Division I, II, and III athletes.
Jared Stricker (Jr. – Ashland, Wis.) led the way for the Blugolds during the morning and afternoon matches with three victories on the day. Stricker started his day on a high note with a 6-3 decision win over Michigan State's Dj Shannon in the second round. In the third round, Stricker fell to #16 ranked Nick Incontrera from the University of Pennsylvania in the third round, setting him up for his Consolation bracket run. Stricker began his wrestle back run in stellar fashion as he pinned George Mason's Sean Coughlin at the 2:01 mark. Stricker ended day one with an 11-1 major decision victory over Arizona State's Cael Valencia to advance to the Consolation Quarterfinals.
Zach Sato (Jr. – Oswego, Ill.) began his morning with a major 11-0 victory over Purdue's Jaden Reynolds in the first round. Sato faced off against division II Thomas Moore University's Ryan Moore in the second round. A 14-2 defeat saw Sato enter the Consolation bracket. In the second round of wrestle backs, Zach defeated Northwestern's Aiden Vandenbush with a major 19-9 victory. Sato's Consolation run ended in the third round with a 16-7 defeat to the 12
th ranked Joseph Zargo from Wisconsin.
Connor Collins (Sr. – Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West) started his day off with a convincing 8-2 victory over Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville's Aaron Cramer. In the second round, Collins fell to Purdue's Hayden Filipovich, 11-3. After a second-round bye in the wrestle backs, Collins fell in a close 4-2 bout to Harvard's Leo Tarantino.
In the 197-weight division,
Cole Matulenko (Fr. – Libertyville, Ill.) began with a first round bye. In the second round, Matulenko fell to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville's Ryan Yarnell to begin his Consolation bracket. With another bye in the wrestle backs, Cole faced off with Carter Blough of Michgan State University and fell 9-3 after a close fight in the first and third periods.
Tyler Fleetwood (Sr. – Fulton, Ill.) competed in the 133-weight division and fell in a tight battle with Cleveland State's Jake Manley, 15-8. A big second period from Tyler brought the score to 7-8, but Fleetwood surrendered six points in the final period in his defeat. In the opening round of his wrestle backs, Fleetwood faced Illinois's Kole Brower. Another close match from Tyler showed his resilience against division I opponents as he fell 2-4 to Brower.
Jared Stricker will continue his run for third place in the 149 division on Saturday, December 30
th when he faces #8 ranked Adam Kemp of California Polytechnic State University at 9 a.m.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at
www.blugolds.com.
