WHEATON, Ill. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team competed at the 84th annual Pete Wilson Wheaton Invitational this weekend. Amongst the 29 competing teams, UW-Eau Claire placed 3rd overall with five Blugolds placing in the top-5 of their respective brackets.
Sloan Welch had the best finish of the weekend, finishing as the runner up in the 285 bracket. Welch started his day with back-to-back pins over UW-Whitewater's Isaak Smith and Wilkes University Trevor Gitski to make the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Welch defeated Milikin's Leno Campbell with an 11-0 major decision. In the semifinals, Welch defeated the 10th ranked Markos Mihalopoulos from UWL by a 2-1 decision. The finals saw
Sloan Welch face fourth ranked Logan Flynn where Welch fell by 5-3 decision to be named the runner up.
Ian Pepple and
Wyatt Unser both placed third in their brackets. Pepple made his way to semifinals with three straight pins against Alma's Paul Wilson, UWL's Kash Macumber, and Cornell's Jackson Brinker. In the semis, Pepple fell to Roanoke's third ranked Lorenzo Pellot by a 9-6 decision. In the consolation bracket, Pepple defeated Ohio Northern's tenth ranked Myles Johnson before taking down Jackson Brinker for a second time by 12-4 major decision to earn third place.
Wyatt Unser won his first round of the day over Cornell's Eli Sneed with a takedown in overtime. After falling to Arcadia's sixth ranked Jacob Blair in the quarterfinals, Unser bounced back in the consolation bracket with a 13-1 major decision over Ozarks' Javin Douglas and another win over Cornell's Eli Sneed. In the consolation semis, Unser defeated Case Western's Art Martinez by a close 5-4 decision. The third place match saw Unser defeat UW-La Crosse's Wyatt Magolski by 9-4 decision.
Other Blugolds placing in the top-5 included
Landon Church placing fourth in the 149 bracket,
Zak McPhee placing fourth in the 184 division, and
Preston Carlisle placing fifth in the 174 weight class.
The Blugolds will be back in town on Saturday, February 7 when they host their annual Don Parker Open at the McPhee Gymnasium.
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