No. 10 Blugolds rally and edge No. 17 Pioneers

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – In the second Top 20 battle in less than 24 hours, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling team fell short of an upset, falling 18-14 at UW-Eau Claire. The No. 10 Blugolds paired back-to-back decisions in the final two bouts of the dual to win and improve to 4-3 overall and 4-1 in the WIAC, while the Pioneers drop to 7-7 overall and 2-3 in the league.

Saturday's dual began at 165 pounds and the Blugolds were first on the board curtesy of No. 9 ranked Tristan Massie securing a narrow 3-2 decision over freshman Justin Warmowski. UW-Eau Claire added three more in the next match as No. 4 ranked Jared Stricker finished with a 5-0 decision over No. 8 senior Nathan Wynsma.

No. 6 ranked Niall Schoenfelder held on for a 3-1 decision over freshman Kasey Ross at 184 pounds, but No. 15 ranked sophomore Tyler Hannah snapped the Blugolds' streak and put the Pioneers on the board with a 3-0 decision win at 197 pounds.

UW-Eau Claire won one more decision at 285 to go up 12-3 before UW-Platteville started a three-bout comeback streak. Sophomore Nolan McKittrick put up a 5-2 decision against Carter Schulz at 125 pounds and No. 2 senior Zach Thompson followed it with a 5-2 triumph against No. 7 Tyler Fleetwood to draw within three points of the Blugolds.

Freshman Kyler Neuberger flipped the script and stacked up a 17-2 technical fall (6:22) in the 141-pound bout for the Pioneers to take the lead 14-12.

The No. 12 ranked Zach Sato defeated senior Brock Parker with a 4-1 decision at 149 pounds to put Eau Claire back on top, 15-14. The thriller of a dual came down to the final bout and the Blugolds' Zack Schneider edged freshman Aiden Brosinski with a 7-6 decision.

The Pioneers will return to action next weekend when they travel to the Wheaton Invite on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28.