PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Jared Stricker made a habit of achieving firsts at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

First wrestler to hit 160 wins. First to get 70 pins. On Saturday night, he capped his career with the most impressive first of them all.

Stricker (Sr. - High Bridge, Wis./Ashland) became the first two-time wrestling national champion in Blugolds history when he defeated Alvernia's Nathan Lackman 7-1 in the 174-pound finals at the NCAA Championships at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The win put Stricker in a class of his own in UW-Eau Claire's history and capped an unbeaten season.

"I think guys were out to get me this year after being a champion," Stricker said. "It could put a little bit more pressure on me, but it wasn't enough I guess."

Lackman was a previous national champion, having won the 2023 title at 165 pounds. But Stricker had few, if any issues, fending off his challenge to clinch the crown. After a scoreless first period, Stricker took the lead with an escape and a takedown in the second. He added another takedown in the third and rode out the victory from there.

"You want to compete against the best and beat the best," Stricker said. "That just proves that you're better, you know?"

In that regard, there are few who can claim to be better than the Blugold senior.

Stricker is the only wrestler in UW-Eau Claire's history to have won two national championships. He won the 2024 title with a 10-3 decision over Wartburg's Zane Mulder, one year removed from falling to Mulder in the 2023 championship match.

Stricker is one of only three wrestlers in program history to be an All-American three times. It's one of his many claims to fame in the Blugolds' record book. He finished this season with an unblemished 43-0 record and ends his Blugold career with a 71-match win streak. He is UW-Eau Claire's first unbeaten national champion.

Stricker set a new standard for Blugold wrestling over his four-year run. The senior wraps up his career holding both school and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference records with 169 career victories. Although there is no official all-time leaderboard for career wins for Division III, Stricker is believed to rank near the very top – finishing 12 shy of beating the mark of 180 Waynesburg's Jake Evans set Raphael Wilson set in 2019. That is believed to be the all-time record.

He also finishes with 75 career pins, another school record.

"It's been amazing. I'm so glad I chose to come to Eau Claire and help this program grow. They started at the bottom and now we're working our way to the top, so it's been awesome," Stricker said.

Stricker was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the NCAA Championships following the conclusion of the meet. He was only scored upon twice in the tournament for a total of four points — and one of those was an escape that he voluntarily gave up to Lackman in the final moments of Saturday's championship match.

Earlier in the day, Ian Pepple (So. – Hastings, Minn.) earned a sixth-place finish at 197 pounds to wrap up his first career appearance at the NCAA Championships. After clinching All-America status on Friday, Pepple moved into the consolation semifinals by pinning Wheaton's Jackson Punzel in 2:14 in the quarterfinals. He dropped his semifinal match to Baldwin Wallace's Joseph Petrella by pin, and fell in the fifth-place match to Johnson & Wales' Dylan Harr by 13-3 major decision.

Pepple finished his breakout season with a 37-14 record. He ended the year with 25 pins, which stands as a new single-season record for the Blugolds.

UW-Eau Claire finished the national championships with 40.5 team points. The Blugolds tied for ninth in the standings, marking the second season in a row they've placed in the top 10 at nationals.