Tonight the Stevens Point Pointers host the Eau Claire Blugolds at Berg gymnasium. Eau Claire is 11-1 overall and 2-1 in the WIAC. Stevens Point is 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the WIAC. The winner will be the second place team in the WIAC with Whitewater in the mix as well. Lacrosse has established themselves as the top team in the WIAC and the Oshkosh Titans are the caboose. Overall the conference is more competitive than it has been in years and is on the rise.
Eau Claire is coming off a Budd Whitehall National Duals title in Williamsport, PA. I’m not sure why they call this event national duals and host another event in Iowa dubbed the “National Duals” on the same day? I would rather not have collegiate wrestling go the way of the youth wrestling scene and call things a national event because they showcase a few states. There should only be one “National Duals”, but congratulations to Eau Claire. I would have rather seen them in the mix with the Burgs, but they picked up solid team wins against 19 Ithaca College and 9 Roanoke. The Blugolds were not challenged at Budd Whitehall and looked really good.
Stevens Point is returning from a road trip as well from Montgomery, Alabama. Big ups to the Dawgs for traveling somewhere fun. The wrestling may not be great in the south yet, but traveling north of Wisconsin can be rough during wrestling season. Unfortunately, speaking from experience Itasca, Minnesota is not where you want to be in January. The Pointers won 2 of 4 duals there and competed in the Hawk Classic Open. Point has a tough matchup with the Blugolds here, but won’t go down easy in front of the Berg faithful.
Tonight’s probables and predictions:
125: 6 Izzy Balsinger EC over Luca Paladino SP decision 3-0
- This is our matchup of the night. Elder statesman Balsinger knows how to win and navigate a match. Paladino is back on the mats and coming off a Hawk Classic Open title. If both these men are healthy expect fireworks and points on the board. Looking forward to this one.
133: Travis Moelter EC over Blaze Thurber SP decision 6-0
- In a clash of Wisconsin preps, the sophomore Moelter gets the win here. Navigating through the Eau Claire wrestling room to start is a feat in itself. Travis is battle tested from his days at River Falls to the Blugold room. Thurber has a respectable journeyman career, is capable of winning and still has some room to grow his Senior campaign.
141: Bo Niewaidomski EC over Cooper Peterson SP pinfall 12-0
- Bo had a nice showing being a critical piece of the Budd Whitehall squad. 141 looks to be an area on the Pointers looking for someone to step up and hold down the spot. While the dawgs work out their roster shakeup, Bo pins and goes about his business.
149: 2 Zach Sato EC over Riese Thornberry SP pinfall 18-0
- Zach Sato is having a career year for the Blugolds. I would argue he is the best wrestler in the country right now. Charles Dojan is top ranked from Wartburg and lost to Sato in their only match 2 years ago. Thornberry is a tough and tricky out for anyone. Right now it is Sato’s world and we’re all living in it.
157: Colton Sund EC over Easton Hull SP technical fall 23-0
- Sund had a good showing at the Whitehall duals and I expect to see him here for the Blugolds. Point had three wrestlers compete at the Hawk Open in Alabama at 157. Easton and Sam Johnson did the best of the group scoring 3.5 points each. I could not find Sam on the roster, so Easton gets the nod. Colton rides the Blugold momentum to a tech fall.
165: Preston Carlisle EC over Josh Heuss SP pinfall 29-0
- Preston is coming off some big wins at the Whitehall duals including a pin over 6 David Ried of Roanoke. Heuss is a gamebread competitor and in the mix for national qualification. I put Carlisle a slight tier above, ready to All American and push for a title. He has a pretty good practice partner in the room you’ll hear about next.
174: 1 Jared Stricker EC over Bryce Buchanan SP pinfall 35-0
- Jared Stricker, next topic. I have said all year he is the best wrestler in division three and stand ten toes down on it. I am grateful to be able to watch him compete this year. I hope he continues his wrestling career and makes a run at some Team USA international squads.
184: 8 Niall Schoenfelder EC over Trystan Altensey SP major decision 39-0
- Niall started the season as the preseason number one. Doing better as the hunter than the hunted, he currently sits at 8 in the country. Altensey is coming off a Hawk Open title and on a hot streak. A win over Niall would put him on the national radar.
197: Ian Pepple EC over Logan Neitizel SP decision 42-0
- Ian has been having a good season for the Blugolds and improving every week. He is just outside cracking the national rankings and a fun wrestler to watch. Coach Fader and co have this team firing on all cylinders. Logan is an experienced junior from Wisconsin. He is also on the same tier as Pepple, finishing runner up at the Hawk Open. With the dual out of reach at this point (pun intended) the Blugolds roll here.
285: Sloan Welch EC over Blake Flach SP pinfall 48-0
- Everytime I type or say Sloan’s name in my head it is voiced by Steve and always accompanied by “The refrigerator with legs”. Anywhoo, this buckaroo finishes the night for the Blugolds in style. Blake has been out of action lately, don’t be surprised to see a 197 bump up here to get a match.
We are entering the final few stretches of the season. Conference titles will be decided by teams and individuals while everyone prepares to get to Providence. The WIAC is in a great place right now and we are blessed to be able to consume excellent wrestling without leaving the state. Thank you to all the coaches and teams who make this happen and thank you for reading this far. I will leave you with some words from Al Davis “Just win, baby win!”