WHEATON, Ill. – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team won the Pete Willson Wheaton Invitational on Saturday. The sixth-ranked Blugolds produced two individual champions to clinch their second title in the last four years at the oldest and largest small-school wrestling tournament in the country.

Zach Sato (Sr. – Oswego, Ill.) and Jared Stricker (Sr. – High Bridge, Wis./Ashland) won the 149- and 174-pound titles, respectively. Stricker was named the winner of the George Olson Outstanding Wrestler Award after the tournament – the second time in his career he received the honor.

The Blugolds had eight placewinners overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UW-Eau Claire finished with 150.5 team points to win the overall championship.
• Sato won the 149-pound title by winning by pin in the semis and technical fall in the finals. The sixth-ranked senior pinned Messiah's Dalton Monger in 1:25 in the semifinals, and defeated Ohio Northern's Cael Vanderhorst by 17-1 technical fall in the finals. It gave him his first career title at the Wheaton Invitational.
• Top-ranked Stricker captured the third Wheaton Invitational of his career with two wins on Saturday. He defeated Ryan Riser of UW-Whitewater by 16-0 technical fall in the semifinals, and clinched the crown with a 5-0 decision over fifth-ranked Dejon Glaster of Millikin in the finals.
• Izzy Balsiger (Jr. – Chippewa Falls, Wis.) placed second at 125 pounds. The sixth-ranked junior knocked off ninth-ranked Isaic Paulino of Roanoke by 7-5 decision in the semifinals before falling to fourth-ranked Jalen Dunson of UW-Whitewater by 4-2 decision in the finals.
• Niall Schoenfelder (Sr. – Antioch, Ill.) took third place at 184 pounds. The 15^th-ranked senior dropped his championship semifinal in a sudden victory, but responded with two wins in the consolation bracket to clinch third. He beat Chicago's Cade Creighton by 4-1 decision in the third-place match to earn his 98^th career victory.
• Landon Church (So. – Jordan, Minn./Scott West) placed fifth at 157 pounds. He went 2-1 on the day, winning the fifth-place match by medical forfeit.
• Ian Pepple (So. – Hastings, Minn.) took sixth at 197 pounds. He won his first match of the day by pin before dropping the next two.
• Finn Bloomquist (Fr. – Prior Lake, Minn.) took seventh at 141 pounds. He went 1-1 on Saturday, winning the seventh-place match by medical forfeit.
• Calvin Singewald (Fr. – Cannon Falls, Minn.) finished the tournament in eighth place at 133 pounds.

UP NEXT

The Blugolds will wrap up their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) dual schedule when they host UW-Platteville on Friday, February 7. The dual will be UW-Eau Claire's first at the brand new Sonnentag Event Center. Wrestling begins at 7 p.m., and the team will be hosting Senior Night.

Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugolds.com or on our app, Blugold Sports, and on social media on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
 

Above: Jared Stricker poses with Wheaton head coach Jim Gruenwald after being named the George Olson Outstanding Wrestler.